


Doki Doki Literature Club: Dark Days

by Elyos



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Dark Comedy, Gen, Implied Mind Rape, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Torture, Insanity, POV Second Person, Psychological Horror, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:07:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28968057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elyos/pseuds/Elyos
Summary: In this Alternate Universe, you find yourself in the Literature Club room.Everybody's got their secrets.But not everybody's secrets are hostile.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	1. Welcome to the Club

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1: Welcome to the Club  
> Chapter 2: What's Your Name?  
> Chapter 3: Depression  
> Chapter 4: Three  
> Chapter 5: It's Okay  
> Chapter 6: Read My Poem  
> Chapter 7: Edge  
> Chapter 8: Hanging Out  
> Chapter 9: At Break-Neck Speed  
> Chapter 10: Trapped  
> Chapter 11: School Festival  
> Chapter 12: Welcome to the Club

Your childhood friend is pulling you along as she runs down the school hallways. "Come on!" she says, so full of mirth and life. You're feeling a little tired today, so it's not easy to keep up with her. Ignoring the stitch forming in your side, you do your best to not slow her down. Heads turn to look at you as your friend relentlessly pulls you on into the unknown. Where is she taking you? You were about to find out.

The gloom and rain outside transfixes you when your friend isn't talking. You remember the rainfall and the flashes of lightning the day you stood out on your front porch. The wind began to caress your face, filling your nostrils with the sweet, metallic smell of the ozone. It's not like that now. Now, you're inside a high school building, and the windows are speeding by as your lungs ache for more air. If you could only be out there with the gloom and rain, but instead, you're in here, where your childhood friend is leading you to a room where your future awaits.

The two of you arrive at the door. She releases your hand. You hold your side, thankful that your legs have a chance to recover from the hard run your friend just dragged you on. She throws the sliding door open with spirited happiness, skipping into the light.

Should you go in? The light coming from inside the room is gold and blinding. What are you even doing here? You gulp excess saliva from breathing so hard. Having finally caught your breath, you stop massaging your side and cross the threshold into the room. Once you're inside, the light isn't blinding you anymore.

Four girls are smiling at you, standing shoulder to shoulder. All five of you are still dressed in your school uniforms, but only one of you are wearing long, black stockings: the most athletic and mature looking girl, with long, chestnut hair, styled in a ponytail, which is held in place with a white ribbon. She's the one wearing long, black stockings, stretching up to her thighs. She steps forward to greet you.

"Hi! I'm Monika. Sayori told me a little bit about you, but this is the first time I've seen you at this school. Are you a transfer student?"

You shake your head and tell Monika that you've been attending this school for as long as you can remember.

"Huh. Welcome, anyway! Are you here to join the Literature Club? We need a fifth member, or else this club won't get off the ground. We had a fifth member, but..."

You tell yourself that you don't care, but a tingling curiosity compels you to inquire about the previous fifth member.

To your near disappointment, Monika dodges your question. "Anyway, like the name suggests, this is a club devoted to the joy of literature in its every form. We'd love it if you'd join us!"

"I'm Yuri," says the tall girl with long, purple hair, and equally purple eyes. And that's all she says. You can already tell that you're going to get along with Yuri.

"And I'm Natsuki," says the short, pink-haired girl who looks to be in deteriorating health... like you, in a way. "I was forced into joining this club and... yeah."

"You already know who I am," says your childhood friend. "I'm Sayori! What do you think? Do you wanna join the club?"

What about the previous fifth member? You venture to ask about them this question a second time. Like before, your question is avoided, and you find their lack of willingness to pursue the subject further unsettling. Finding an immediate lack of trust in these girls, you can't help but puff air out through your nose in a derisive snort, before turning to leave.

"Wait!" Sayori runs in front of you, blocking your only path of escape. "Won't you at least consider it? You don't have to decide right now."

But you already decided, you tell her. The tone of your voice suggests that your answer is no.

"Oh... okay," Sayori says, deflating. "You don't... have to join, if you don't want to."

You grab Sayori by the shoulders and physically move her out of your way before leaving the room.

*

You don't remember going home. You just remember coming back to school the next day, dreading what's to come. School sucks. Everything sucks. Everybody is so stupid. Those Literature Club girls are so damned secretive about what happened to the previous fifth member that the more you think about it, the less you want to have anything to do with them. And yet...

"Hey!" Sayori finds you in your homeroom during lunch. She's got a smile on her face. Like always. "Have you thought more about joining the Literature Club yet?"

Yes.

"So will you join?"

No.

"Awww..."

You continue to mind your own business, taking another drink of juice from your juice box. You've already eaten most of your lunch, except for a few slices of the zucchini you regret throwing into your meal. Sayori is still standing there. She looks like someone dumped her.

An idea hits you. She wants you to join the Literature Club that badly? Perhaps you will join it, if she tells you what happened to the club's previous fifth member. That mystery has been the only thing on your mind since yesterday. You don't remember going home, you don't remember leaving your house, but you do remember entering the school again. But the fate of the previous fifth member is the only thing that's been occupying your thoughts this entire time. So... you decide to be blunt with your friend.

"Eh-heh... can't you ask me about something else?" Sayori says, pushing the tips of her index fingers together.

Tell me what I want to know, or I'm not joining the club. That is the condition you have set. You try to coax Sayori a bit more by reminding her that the Literature Club needs a fifth member, doesn't it? You'd benefit from telling me what I want to know.

"I dunno... it's... um... eh-heh..."

Alright, I guess I'm not joining the club, you say, shaking your head in false disappointment.

"Okay... I'll tell you..."

Your eyebrows go up as you wait for Sayori to spill the Literature Club's secrets.


	2. What's Your Name?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You introduce yourself. Why didn't you think to introduce yourself before? In fact, you didn't even know what you looked like before. You couldn't even hear your own voice before. It's becoming clear now. Just look in the mirror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Welcome to the Club  
> Chapter 2: What's Your Name?  
> Chapter 3: Depression  
> Chapter 4: Three  
> Chapter 5: It's Okay  
> Chapter 6: Read My Poem  
> Chapter 7: Edge  
> Chapter 8: Hanging Out  
> Chapter 9: At Break-Neck Speed  
> Chapter 10: Trapped  
> Chapter 11: School Festival  
> Chapter 12: Welcome to the Club

After the dismissal bell, you weigh your two options: go back home, or go to the clubroom.

A few hours ago, during lunch period, Sayori attempted to answer your question and tell you what you wanted to know, but recalling the memory proved uncannily difficult for her, and the whole time she was throwing up all over your desk, a thought occurred in the back of your consciousness: how on earth could you have known Sayori for this long, and not known about her being part of a Literature Club? For how long was Sayori a member of Monika's club? Monika is the president, isn't she? Who's the vice president? There must always be a president and a vice president of a club. And what, pray tell, is with Sayori—or any of the other girls—not telling you about the unknown fifth member who left? After Monika brought it up, no less. Did she do that to taunt you, or was it a slip of the tongue?

The longer they stay silent about it, the more you find yourself wanting to know about the fifth member who's no longer with them. That is why—

The Literature Clubroom door slides open, by your hand. Your friend, Sayori, is situating herself in one of the desks. The club members are scattered throughout the room, having put a number of empty desks between each other. The pink haired girl, Natsuki, is sitting close to the back of the room, where the closet door sits open, but light is off inside. Yuri is sitting one row ahead of Natsuki, but on the opposite end of the room. Sayori is in the front row, center. Monika is leaning against the wall in the front of the room, crossing one black stocking-clad leg over the other with her arms folded. As you appear in the doorway, the four girls all look at you, and Sayori is the first to jump up to come over and give you a greeting.

"Yay! You came!" she says, taking your hands in hers. So joyful, so mirthful is your childhood friend that her laughter nearly warms the depths of your soul. Nearly. But...

Hold it, you say, I haven't given you an answer yet. Anyway, Sayori, weren't you sick earlier? Shouldn't you have gone to the nurse's office?

"I'm okay now!" she says. "I think something I ate disagreed with me."

"Welcome!" Monika says, also walking up to you. She stands close behind Sayori, who is still holding your hands in hers. "Before you give us your answer, won't you consider sitting in on one of our club meetings? Maybe it'll help you decide for sure if you want to join or not.

You're going to have a meeting anyway? Despite not having enough people to be officially recognized as a club?

"That's the idea, yeah." Monika's confidence wavers. "But you see, we were hoping you'd be here today, so I was holding off in case you showed up."

You observe the other two girls in the room. Natsuki is sitting back there, watching you curiously. You catch the pink-haired dwarf of a girl turning her head away quickly the moment your eyes meet—it was only for a split second. Yuri is reading a book. You can barely see the title from where you stand, and it's a phrase of words you thought you could recognize, but you—Yuri closes the book and tucks it into her bag. Her eyes meet yours. She's pretty. Yuri's very pretty. You wish you could be pretty, too, but you don't even know what you look like, do you?

"C'mon!" Sayori tugs on your hands, guiding you into the room. She's walking in reverse while you walk forward. Sayori's hands are getting sweaty. Are you making her nervous? You don't know, but something's fishy here. "You can sit right next to me." She shows you to the desk that's located to the immediate right of her desk. Sighing through your nostrils, you wordlessly take a seat.

You suddenly have to pee. Strange, how that suddenly comes on. Monika is about to address the clubroom when you stand up and inform them that you need to really go bad.

"Oh! Uh, okay. We'll... wait until you get back, then," Monika says.

No, you just go ahead with the club meeting, you tell her on your way out of the room.

Monika's voice fades in the hallway behind you. "But you're our fifth member, you have to be here."

Like hell I do, you mutter to yourself, shoving open the bathroom door. You pick a toilet and use it, and then, when you're finished, you head to one of the four sinks to wash your hands. How lucky you are, you picked the one sink that has no mirror on the wall above it. You don't have to look at yourself and end up comparing your appearance to Yuri's. You finish handwashing, and you cross in front of two mirrors as you move over to the paper towel dispenser. You side-eye your reflection in the first mirror as you walk past it. But it's when you see your reflection in the second mirror that you remember what you look like. The mirror shows you what you remember.

You've got your arms folded behind your back as you make your slow return to the clubroom. The hallway is quiet, and the rainy sky is growing darker outside. The pitter-patter of rain dots the hall windows, making you long to become one with the raindrops.

Your return to the clubroom is triumphant, in Sayori's eyes. She gives you a little cheer en route back to your designated seat right next to her. What's with that? Did she think you were just going to go back home after going pee? You ask her that.

"Eh-heh... no, not really..."

"Welcome to the Literature Club's first meeting!" Monika begins. She sounds happy. Like her words have officially consecrated the room. This is now Literature Club property, right, Monika? "We should start with introductions at the front of the room. After that, tell us a little bit about yourself. Who wants to go first?"

You know your friend's going to go first. She seems like the nervous type, but Sayori is actually a really outgoing person. Sayori, with her boundless energy, jumps up with her hand raised.

"I'll go!"

"'Kay, you're up." The smiling Monika sits down at the desk to the immediate left of Sayori's now empty chair. Somehow, this makes things more awkward for you. Why did Monika sit there? Why didn't she sit right next to you, or anywhere else in the room, for that matter?

"I'm Sayori. I like sweets, I like to play, and I looooooove hanging out with all my friends. Hey guys, let's all hang out together outside the school sometime. When I was six years old, I crashed my bicycle and cut my leg open."

No she didn't, you think, she actually cut her arm open. You remember, right?

You get the feeling that someone's watching you, so while Sayori is going on about how she loves parties, you look over your shoulder to see Yuri's purple eyes centered on her desk, like she's trying to burn a hole through it with her stare. Meanwhile, Natsuki is leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed. She looks like she doesn't want to be here. Then why did she even come?

Why did YOU even come?

Sayori wakes you up from your thoughts when she drops her weight into the chair beside you. "How was that? Neat, huh? Go next!" she urges you.

No, I don't think so.

"I'll go," Yuri volunteers with a shy raise of the hand. Monika sits back down at the desk to Sayori's left, while Yuri takes center stage. "My name is Yuri, and... uu... I like reading. There's nothing better than finding a nice, quiet place to curl up with some hot tea and a good book. I've been reading a lot of horror lately, so if anyone's in the mood for something scary, I'd be more than happy to give you some good recommendations."

The only thing that's scary here is how you got sucked into this. Why didn't you just go home?

"Like the book I'm reading. Basically, it's about this cult of people who work at a prison where they research a way to find the Fountain of Youth. It's an inescapable domain where the residents are tested and pushed beyond their boundaries, and the screams are only the beginning. It gets a lot worse when they start inoculating the prisoners with strange diseases that cause them to—O-oh, that might be a little bit of a spoiler..."

Yuri returns to her seat, red-faced and embarrassed that she nearly spoiled a book that you couldn't give two shits about.

"Okay, I'll go next," Natsuki says before Monika can even get back up from her chair. The club president's rear end had only begun to vacate the seat when Natsuki spoke up, so Monika sits back down, keeping that smile on her face. Natsuki takes the front of the room and starts talking. "I'm Natsuki. I like manga and anime. And... yeah, that's about it."

"Surely you have more to tell us," Monika encourages her.

"Kh—! Yeah, well, I'm good at cooking, I guess..."

"And you like cute things!" Sayori points out.

"No I don't!" Natsuki bursts.

"Yeah you do," Sayori teases. "Remember last week, when you showed me that picture of the rabbit you found online?"

"Grr...! Anyway, I'm Natsuki. If you got a problem with anything I like, you can leave." And there she goes, back to her seat at the end of the classroom.

"That just leaves one person," says Monika.

All eyes are on you. This is the moment you were waiting for... not because you were looking forward to it. Quite the opposite, actually. You were dreading this. Still, what's fair is fair. Everyone else introduced themselves—except Monika, but everyone already knows about her, anyway—so it's only right that you introduce yourself, too.

You draw in a deep breath and exhale, taking your place at the front of the room. The ground wants to spin away from your feet. Standing in front of this many pairs of eyes makes your knees go weak. It's now or never.

You say, I am Elyssa. When I was three years old, my sister disappeared, and she hasn't been found since. I don't know who my parents are, but I know I'll find them someday—them, and my sister. I've been friends with Sayori since we were five. Kind of crazy, we're in high school together now. There's not much else to know about me. Oh, and... yes, I've decided to join the Literature Club. Nice to meet you all.

As you return to your seat, you see Yuri watching you closely. You begin to compare your appearance to hers. She's taller than you, her breasts are larger than yours, and her eyes and hair are a beautiful shade of purple. Meanwhile, your hair is frizzy and blonde, not at all as beautiful as Yuri's, and your eyes are like brown marble.

Sitting in your chair next to Sayori, you watch Monika return to the front of the room. As she starts to talk, you silently wish that you'd have just gone home.

What a headache.


	3. Depression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your friend, Sayori, is depressed. She'll never be happy again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Welcome to the Club  
> Chapter 2: What's Your Name?  
> Chapter 3: Depression  
> Chapter 4: Three  
> Chapter 5: It's Okay  
> Chapter 6: Read My Poem  
> Chapter 7: Edge  
> Chapter 8: Hanging Out  
> Chapter 9: At Break-Neck Speed  
> Chapter 10: Trapped  
> Chapter 11: School Festival  
> Chapter 12: Welcome to the Club

The rest of the week plays out like you expect it to. There's nothing special, nothing interesting, just you and this world and a fleeting sense of reality. You go to school, endure the idiots, hang out with Sayori, endure the idiots some more, hang out with Sayori some more, and then endure the idiots one last time for the day... then you go to the Literature Club after school, to hang out with Sayori, you guess. Literature isn't really your thing, but there are worse ways to spend your pastime.

It's the start of next week, Monday, when you realize that something's up with Sayori. It's no surprise to you that Sayori was diagnosed with clinical depression a few years back, because for as long as you've known her, her happiness seemed a bit forced a lot of times. You can't really remember the last time Sayori was genuinely happy. Actually, you can. It was last week, when you showed up at the Literature Clubroom. The truth about Sayori is you're all she's got. She won't tell you where her parents went after she started middle school. All you know is from that point on, Sayori has been alone at home every time you paid a visit. You've given up on trying to help her—you know, offering an invitation for her to come stay a few nights at your place, so she won't feel so lonely, because every single time you bring it up, she shakes her head, smiles, and says, "It's okay."

No it isn't.

No it fucking isn't.

You're a fucking liar, Sayori, you hear me? A goddamn motherfucking liar.

It's frustrating that she won't accept any help you offer. So you have to sit there and watch your friend succumb to her mental disorder. Sayori's tendencies to conveniently forget hygiene come and go. Sometimes she doesn't eat. Other times she comes to school in a uniform that hadn't been washed in a month. That includes her panties and bra.

Today, on Monday, the moment Sayori walks up to you in the school commons, the body odor she gives off is one of a two-part indicator that she's fallen again. The other sign is her eyes. She looks like she hasn't slept in the past twenty-four hours. Sayori's uniform is wrinkled and unwashed, she's giving off a strong scent of sweaty armpits, her hair's unkempt and a total mess, and her responses to your questions are lagging. You inform Sayori that maybe she should go home and take a sick day.

But, infuriatingly, Sayori looks at you with those dead, sleepless eyes, shakes her head, and smiles. "It's okay."

You forget to breathe for a moment. Something in your mind snaps.

"Elyssa?"

You bite your tongue.

"Hey? Are you okay, Elyssa?"

You want to slap Sayori, but what will that do?

Sayori waves her hand jokingly in front of your face, plastering that fake smile on her lips. "Wakey wakey, Elyssie-poo!"

She's being cute now, but you're not falling for that bullshit. You find your body tensing up. Your arms start to drift out toward Sayori, your fingers flexed, your hands shaking in absolute rage. You're doing your best to keep your facial expression static, but the urge to wear your feelings openly is combating your inner sense of logic. The muscles in your face are twitching. You try to hide it with a smile, but your smile is clenched and vicious. Your ugly brown eyes are wide open, scanning every part of Sayori's head, shoulders, and neck for a vulnerable point. If you had something sharp, you could take Sayori's life right now, the way you're feeling. She'd never be sad again.

She'd be dead.

"Elyssa...? You okay?"

Snap.

I'm fine, you tell Sayori. You just had to take a moment to consider Sayori's answer.

"O...kay, Elyssa. Eh-heh..."

*

Later, after school's over, you and Sayori walk to the club room. Sayori wants to hold your hand. You think that's a bit weird, but who are you to judge? You're the weirdest person in this school. Besides, if holding your hand will help Sayori fight this depression she has to suffer through, then you're all for it. After all, a Sayori who's not depressed is a Sayori who's enjoyable to be around.

"Whoa," is the first thing Natsuki says when she lays her eyes on Sayori, as you and your friend walk into the clubroom. Right now, Natsuki is the only one here. Everyone else must be on their way. Natsuki was just coming out of the closet at the back of the room when she spotted the two of you. "Sayori, you look like a freaking zombie."

"Eh-heh-heh, do I?" Sayori lets go of your hand and starts shambling between the rows of desks, playing the part of a zombie as she lumbers toward Natsuki. "Rooooaaaaaahhhh, I waaaaannnnnt your braaaaiiiiiinssss..."

You have to admit, you like THAT side of Sayori. That's the kind of behavior that made you want to be friends with her, when the two of you were five years old. Sayori's school bag falls off her shoulder and lands on the floor as she lurches toward Natsuki. Natsuki—cute Natsuki—drops the manga she was holding and takes off running.

"Sayori! Hey, cut it out! I was just joking!"

"Braaaaiiiiiins..."

Sayori's having a blast. You can see her trying not to laugh. She keeps it up, as she chases Natsuki all over the clubroom. Finally, Natsuki wises up and runs to you, putting you between her and the "zombified" Sayori. Good move, Natsuki, Sayori would never eat her friend. The pink-haired dwarf of a girl cowers behind you. You look down at her, and the expression she's wearing is one of genuine terror.

Okay, you think, maybe Sayori's taking it a little too far. Hey, Sayori, you start to say, when Sayori lunges into you. You're not much taller than Sayori, so she knocks you off balance pretty easily. Natsuki lets out an "Eep!" and runs away from you, fleeing in terror as she weaves through the rows and columns of desks. Sayori, you say again, pushing back against her, that's enough.

"Braaaaiiiiiinnnnnnssss..."

Sayori violently pushes you down and drops to her knees between your legs, draping herself over you and pinning you to the floor. If this is an act, it's fucking movie-acting level. You're really starting to believe she could be a zombie. So you say a bit louder, Sayori! Stop it! The joke's over!

What the hell? You can feel Sayori's tongue as she tastes your neck. Gross! Hey, Sayori! Knock it off! That's disgusting!

?!

You roll over, putting Sayori on the floor, and you pull your neck away from her mouth. There's blood around her lips. Her eyes are rolled into the back of her head. Checking your neck, you conclude that your friend, Sayori, has actually taken a bite out of you. On your fingers, there's your blood, fresh and wet.

The clubroom door slides open. "Hello, everyone," says Yuri. "What are you all doing?"

You stand up. What WERE you doing? Your fingers are dry. Sayori and Natsuki are standing side-by-side, looking worried. You check your neck again, and... nothing.

"Are you okay, Elyssa?" Sayori asks you. "I thought I hurt you when I accidentally knocked you over. Sorry!"

"You had me going," Natsuki mutters. "Good acting, I guess."

So wait, the last few minutes never happened? You point at Sayori and say, didn't you bite my neck?

"Uh, no? Eh-heh, I was pretending to bite your neck. It sounded like you hit your head, so I got off of you. You were laying there, twitching."

"Yeah, looked like you might've gotten knocked out," Natsuki says.

"Oh my," Yuri chimes in. "You really should be more careful."

*

The Literature Club has concluded its meeting. Monika ran things like business as usual. You regret not asking them, again, about the previous fifth member. The zombified Sayori left you full of questions. How much of that was real, and how much of it was in your head? It was nice to see Sayori joke around, but now she's back to being gloomy.

Ever since that happened, you've had this nagging... headache? No, it isn't a headache, it's something else. It's more like a burning sensation, right there, in your forehead. You keep scratching at it, but the itching doesn't subside from the stimulation caused by your nails. It goes away on its own, and it comes back on its own. Sometimes when you scratch your forehead, you see things that can't possibly be there. Could they?


	4. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when everything starts to make less sense, they make even less sense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Welcome to the Club  
> Chapter 2: What's Your Name?  
> Chapter 3: Depression  
> Chapter 4: Three  
> Chapter 5: It's Okay  
> Chapter 6: Read My Poem  
> Chapter 7: Edge  
> Chapter 8: Hanging Out  
> Chapter 9: At Break-Neck Speed  
> Chapter 10: Trapped  
> Chapter 11: School Festival  
> Chapter 12: Welcome to the Club

The very next day, you find yourself in the school bathroom, staring into the eyes of your own reflection. She stares back at you. You brush your hair back, so does she. You bare your teeth, so does she. You kill yourself, so does she.

Did you just kill yourself? No... no, you didn't. So why is your reflection lying dead on the bathroom floor? You're still standing up, looking down on your dead body inside the mirror. What did she do? One moment she was mimicking you, the next moment she's dead.

You decide not to think about it. It's nearly time for morning class, so you hurry out of the bathroom, scratching at the bad itch on your forehead.

First period goes by in a flash. You wish you could say nothing weird happened, but you'd only be lying to yourself. Weird things did happen, but you don't want to talk to anybody about it. You know why? Because nobody in the world would believe that you saw half the room get torn away and swallowed up inside spinning vortex of dark matter, from which not even sunlight could escape. You saw that, right? That's what happened. Yet here you are. Here all of you are, safe and sound in a quiet classroom, where the end-of-period bell marks the conclusion of first period.

Just don't think about it. You gather your things and depart for your next class, scratching your forehead with two fingers.

Second period is a doozy. One minute the teacher's lecturing the classroom, the next minute he's stabbing a girl in the face with a red hot iron stake. He drops the stake on the girl's desk and, with both of his hands, he sticks all of his fingers into the screaming girl's mouth, grips her teeth, and separates her jaw from her skull. There's blood everywhere. Joy. Your forehead REALLY itches! You scratch at it like crazy—

None of that happened. Of course. The girl isn't screaming in pain, she's quietly answering the teacher's question. What is up with these freaky hallucinations?

Third period? Forget about it. Ugh. For a moment, and only a moment, the hallucination scared you, but you knew it wasn't real. What was it? Your teacher tore her eyeballs out and ate them in front of the class. Right on cue, your forehead itched. You scratched it. Bam. Everything's normal. You guess from now on you'll just scratch your forehead to solve problems.

Fourth period, everyone in the class drew guns and shot themselves in the head. You're left sitting there in a room full of dead people. Your forehead itched, you scratched it, everything was fine.

Fifth period. A boy and a girl started having sex in the middle of class, except the boy was chewing the girl's face off like a horny cannibal. Wow. Good thing that wasn't real.

Sixth period... What a tiresome day. Your own damned leg fell off in that class. You sighed at it, rested your chin in your hand, and scratched your forehead. There you go, your leg was put back on. This is getting stupid.

Final period. This is maybe the only hallucination that actually gave you pause. You saw Monika walk into your classroom while the teacher was lecturing. Nobody looked at her—a big indicator that she was in your head. Monika set a note on your desk, winked at you, and left the room. The note read: Come to the library after class.

Here you are, walking to the library. If nothing happens there, this will be the last time you ever obey the visions in your head.

You get there, and... there's Monika, minding her own business. What did you want to see me for, you ask her.

Monika looks at you in surprise and smiles. "Ahaha... what?"

You sigh and mutter, nothing, nevermind. You turn to leave. Monika calls you back.

"Elyssa? Did you have a question?"

You turn back around. Yeah, you say. What happened to the previous fifth member?

"Do you have any other questions?"

Damn it, tell me, you say to Monika, your patience thinning to a hazardous degree. You're the one who brought it up on my first day here, so tell me about what happened to the previous fifth member.

"Why do you want to know so much about him?"

Okay, he was a boy. What else? What was his name? Why are you being so damn secretive, Monika? Why are none of you talking to me about it? The more you avoid my questions, the more I'm going to ask, so you might as well tell me. You've got nothing to lose by letting me in on your secrets. Am I not a member of your Literature Club?

Monika stands up, an exasperated sigh falling from her lips. "See you in the clubroom, Elyssa," she says, walking past you.

You watch her go. Oh, yes you will, you say quietly.

*

The Literature Club again. Sayori is there, and Natsuki, and Yuri, and Monika, too. Guess what else is there. Your itchy forehead. You walk into the room, and the moment you take that first step on the floor inside, a sequence of scenarios plays out before you, ethereal and warped; they make no sound, but they progress as though someone pressed the fast-forward button.

A boy was here, and he was trading poems with the girls. They shared poems with each other every single day. In one scenario, he got close to Sayori, who later hung herself in her bedroom. In another scenario, he got close to Yuri, who stabbed herself repeatedly with a knife as she laughed in his face. In another scenario, he got close to Natsuki, who broke her own neck with no hands. In another scenario, Monika poisoned the girls' tea and killed them, so the boy could belong to her alone.

Just Monika.

The visions fade and the itching subsides. You feel ill. Be right back, you say to the other girls, retreating, instead, to the bathroom just down the hall. You make it to the toilet just in time to drop to your knees and pray to the porcelain god. Once your lunch has successfully been upchucked, you casually think about killing Monika because she pissed you off earlier. Maybe you will. Just as soon as you wash your hands.

You walk up to the sink and mirror. Inside it, your reflection draws close. Something is out of place. You scowl at your reflection, who scowls back with three eyes.


	5. It's Okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You try to tell yourself everything is going to be okay, but it's really not okay. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter one: Welcome to the Club  
> Chapter 9: What's Your Name?  
> Chapter 0.1361256245134561356135583369908: Depression  
> Chapter 17: Three  
> Chapter 3: It's Okay  
> Chapter 11: Read My Poem  
> Chapter 5: Edge  
> Chapter 1,092: Hanging Out  
> Chapter 67: At Break-Neck Speed  
> Chapter 1: Trapped  
> Chapter 114: School Festival  
> Chapter 56: Welcome to the Club

Three eyes.

The itching in your forehead is gone. What stares back at you from inside the mirror is horrifying, yet at the same time, you are filled with untold bliss. The sharp crimson glow of the third eye between your eyebrows casts its light upon the mirror, and in return the mirror lights your face.

What you are is something beyond ordinary. You understand this now. Killing everyone in the Literature Club would be such an easy task. You're going to start with Monika, if she doesn't start answering your fucking questions.

Next, you're going to kill Yuri. How dare she be born prettier than you? She won't be so pretty when she's laying dead on the floor with multiple stab wounds in her body, just like she did in your strange vision earlier.

Next, Natsuki. You don't give a shit about Natsuki, you're going to snap her neck just the way she did to herself in that vision. Only, guess what. Sayori likes Natsuki, so you'll make Natsuki's death nice and slow, to coax Sayori into telling you what the fuck happened to that previous fifth member you've been asking so fucking much about. And then? When Sayori tells you everything you want to know, you're going to make her get naked and have sex with her. It doesn't matter if you're homosexual or not, you're going to make Sayori happy by fucking her stupid.

And then you're going to kill her.

Yes, these are the nasty fucking thoughts going through your head right now, as you gaze deeply into your third eye. So beautiful... so... perfect... so...

You're waking up with a horrible headache, unsure of what just happened. When did you end up on the bathroom floor? You climb back up, clinging to the edge of the school's bathroom sink as support. You and your reflection rise into view of each other, and you find that your third eye has disappeared, along with that blissful feeling at the thought of killing people.

What WAS that? It wasn't just some hallucination, you really felt something...

This stays on your mind while you return to the club room.

Something's a little bit different when you open the club room door. Just a little bit different. You can't put your finger on it. Might it have something to do with the fact that all the desks and chairs are now on the ceiling? And that all the girls in the Literature Club are also on the ceiling? Everything has decided to defy gravity and just go ahead and have a ball on a different axis all together. And the girls are up there, chatting freely like none of this is out of place. You try scratching the area where your third eye opened up, but nothing's changing.

You see a memory of a steel hospital table in a cold room, and someone's blood is all over it. Used surgical tools lay heaped in a rectangular tin box on the table next to the one one you're standing beside. Why does this scene look familiar? You're afforded no chance to think about this, because you're back in the club room, where you're suddenly inside the room, lying face down on the floor with a gag in your mouth. Your arms and feet are hogtied behind your back. All four Literature Club girls are standing over you, plotting your suffering.

"I'm going to make her suck on my knife," Yuri says.

"I'm going to strangle her," Natsuki says.

"I'm going to sit on her face," Monika says.

"I'm going to set her on fire," Sayori says.

You can't deny your heightening fear and... oddly, arousal, at this predicament. Natsuki goes skipping off into her closet and comes back out with a brand spanking new hacksaw.

"I think she wants out of the ropes," Natsuki says, bringing the hacksaw over. "Hold her still, I'm going to cut her loose."

Natsuki's idea of "cut her loose" doesn't exactly sound pleasant, when you feel the jagged teeth of the hackaw touch down on the back of your exposed thigh.

NOOOOOOOooooooo!

You're screaming "No" as you wake up YET AGAIN, this time in the same spot as where you were when you were hogtied, only NOW, Monika and Sayori are holding you down. You're trying to thrash and fight them off, but they're not letting you up. There are no more ropes constricting your body in an uncomfortable position, you only feel the weight of two humans pinning you to the floor. While they're struggling to hold you down, you start demanding answers to questions like, what are they doing, what's going on here, and why are you on the floor.

"Elyssa, please stop!" Sayori is crying.

"Relax," comes the authoritative command of Monika.

Natsuki is hiding behind Yuri as they look on.

Monika says, "Do you not remember anything you did just now?"

What did I do, you ask her.

"You came into this room and grabbed Natsuki by the hair."

No I didn't!

"Yeah you did!" Natsuki yells from her safe point. "You wouldn't let go, so Monika took you down. You grabbed Sayori as you were falling, so you pulled her on top of you!"

No way...

You give up on struggling. You're too tired to move, or even think. You're out of breath, so you need to get some air in your lungs first. Once she's convinced you've calmed down, Monika gets off of you, not before Sayori. You sit up groggily and tell them that you're not feeling very good, that you have to skip the club meeting today and go home. No one raises their voices in protest at your decision, so you stand up, gather your belongings, and you leave the clubroom. Then, you leave the school, but you don't remember where you went after that.


	6. Read My Poem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's poetry time. You love poetry. That's why you joined the Literature Club. Kiss Kiss Love Love Doki Doki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: What Is This Place?  
> Chapter 2: Why Am I Here?  
> Chapter 3: What's Going On?  
> Chapter 4: Make It Stop  
> Chapter 5: Is This Even Real?  
> Chapter 6: Read My Poem  
> Chapter 7: Edge  
> Chapter 8: Hanging Out  
> Chapter 9: At Break-Neck Speed  
> Chapter 10: Trapped  
> Chapter 11: School Festival  
> Chapter 12: Welcome to the Club

Kiss, kiss, love, love, doki, doki.

Kiss, kiss, love, love, doki, doki.

Kiss-kiss, love-love, doki-doki.

KissKissLoveLoveDokiDoki in the Literature Club today. You've come down with a case of the giggles as you enter the school and fly through the day. You don't care. The day seems to go by so fast. What is this beautiful feeling, so full of warm smells and pleasantness? Oh, it's just you. You're feeling good today. Nothing's going to stop you. You're beautiful, you're smart, you're badass, you're going to rock the whole damn world when you and your third eye ignite with passion and fury.

School's out for the day, but hey, you've still got those pretty little girls up in the literature club room. Especially that cute little bitch, Natsuki. You're just going to kill her so softly, aren't you? Yes you are. Yes you are ♥

Her bones are going to go snap in your hands, and you're going to kiss her goodnight.

Throwing open the club room's door, making it go SHLACK! you startle the other girls. You enter the club room, walk up to Monika, and gesture conversationally as you burst out laughing. And then you quietly go sit down next to Sayori, who's eyeing you warily, just like everyone else in the room.

"Elyssa? Eh-heh, are you okay?"

Your head snaps toward Sayori, effectively scaring the Jesus Christ out of her fucking soul. You mock her, saying, Ewyssa? HEH-HEH! Are you okay? HEH-HEH!

"What the...?" Natsuki mutters.

You jump up out of your seat and stomp across the room, aggressively throwing desks out of your way with a big old smile on your face. Natsuki goes pale when you approach. You can see your own reflection in Natsuki's eyes. You've got a crimson glow between your eyebrows. Your third eye is open.

So you stick your face in Natsuki's face and kiss her on the lips. Mwah! And then, as she recoils in her seat, sputtering and dragging her wrist back and forth across her mouth, you mock her as well. You say, WHUT DUH? Stop being so cute, Natsuki, you're so cute it hurts.

"What the FUCK is wrong with you?! And don't call me cute!"

"Uuu... um, Elyssa...?"

OH, HOW COULD YOU FORGET ABOUT YURI? You drift up to Yuri like a specter from the deepest canyon on earth. You're practically nose to nose with Yuri when you say to her, What do you want, Yuri? Can't you see I'm busy?

"I-I was just going to tell you that... that Natsuki is, um..."

IS UM WHAT? SPIT IT OUT, YURI!

Yuri flinches at your yelling. Monika rests her hand on your shoulder. It's warm. You decide you don't give a shit about what Yuri has to say, because now you're turning around to face Monika.

You say to Monika, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LITERATURE CLUB'S—PREVIOUS—FIFTH—MEMBER?!

"Please stop yelling? C'mon," Monika says with a nervous smile. "We're all friends here. Please calm down, Elyssa."

NO, YOU CALM DOWN! You then burst out laughing. And as suddenly as your laughter started, it stops. The feeling of bliss leaves your body. Did your third eye just close? Your body now feels heavy. You collapse, falling into Monika, who catches you and carefully sits you down in a chair.

"Can someone please put her in a straitjacket?" Natsuki says. "Geez. Now I'm starting to wish we had—" Natsuki says the name of the Literature Club's previous fifth member. Fuck, what was it? You already forgot. "—back. He may have been a boy, but at last he wasn't crazy."

Sayori makes a squeaky noise and shushes Natsuki. "Don't say—" The previous fifth member. "—'s name in front of Elyssa, or she'll ask questions.

Ask questions? You don't know if you said that out loud or not, you've got Monika in your business right now. If your third eye were still open, you have a feeling you would have grabbed Monika and pulled her into you, forcing her to sit on your lap... but your third eye isn't open right now, so the best you can do is look up at Monika, who's apparently checking you for a fever, and say, I've been asking questions this whole time. Why won't you guys tell me about the previous fifth member? What are you hiding? Why are you being so secretive? Can't you just tell me?

"Why are you so curious about him?" Monika answers your question with a question of her own. "He's gone. There's nothing to talk about."

There is something to talk about, you press. The more you avoid my questions, the more I think... the more I think that you four did something to him.

A heavy silence falls upon the room, like a pall over a tomb of lies. Monika averts her gaze, in a chilling attempt to just forget about all of this. But you're not going to let her. They're going to answer you today, damn it, because if they don't, you're going to beat it out of them. Your forehead's tingling. Your third eye wants to open again.

Come to think, why didn't any of the girls ask you about that crimson glowing eye in your forehead? Maybe none of them can see it, but you. That must be it.

Monika, you say again. Just tell me. What—happened—to the—fifth—member—of—your—literature—club?

The club president is no longer concerned that your sick. She turns her back on you and returns to the podium at the front of the room, to quietly get her papers in order. Why the fuck does Monika need a podium? And what are those papers even for? Is she going to be a politician when she graduates, or something?

Fuck politicians.

Politicians put you in this mess.

Wait, did they? What mess? Something is lurking at the edge of your mind, but you can't figure out what it is. You almost remembered home, but how can that be? You go home every day... don't you? Why don't you remember anything? What happened yesterday? Does yesterday even exist?

Sayori keeps her head down while she's sorting out the desks you threw around earlier, when you were storming toward Natsuki. She's not talking to you. Natsuki refuses to take her eyes off you. It's like she's expecting you to come running after her at any given moment, because she looks like she's ready to run for the door. Wow. You really messed things up, didn't you? You couldn't help it. Your third eye just makes you feel so good that you don't care about anything. You feel powerful whenever the third eye opens. You honestly wouldn't be surprised if you could generate lightning from your fingertips, if you concentrated hard enough.

Yuri? She's just acting like she always does. She's sitting at her desk, lost in her own world, reading that weird-assed book. What IS that book, anyway? Wasn't that the book Yuri talked about a couple days ago? It's coming back to you. Yesterday DOES exist. You're not going crazy. The book she's reading, it's a horror book, and it's about a cult, or something. They're researching ways to find the Fountain of Youth—

Your vision flashes. You're in a hospital. You're lying on a steel table. A team of doctors are in the process of securing you in place with leather straps, trapping your arms, your legs, and your head. The head surgeon wheels a machine over next to you, and attached to that machine is a pair of cables with metal rods at the ends. The surgeon is putting on a pair of rubber gloves.

"The time is 1300. At this time, we will begin testing the subject's tolerance for pain. With the administration of FYL-2 at 0700, her pain threshold should have been doubled. The test will continue for its full duration, or until the subject begins to show signs of internal bleeding, external bleeding, organ failure, or cardiac arrest." With his rubber gloved hands, the surgeon picks up the two metal rods, one in each hand. "Fifty percent power, please."

One of the team members flips a few switches on the machine and twists a dial. The hum of electricity reaches your ears. The surgeon touches the metal rods together, firing off a spray of yellow sparks.

You know what's coming.

Your vision fades with the final echoes of your tortured screams.

You're in the Literature Club room, hunching over in your seat. You've got the sides of your head clutched between your hands, squeezing your eyes shut so tightly. You can't stop the tears from falling. Your temples still burn from that day... whenever that was.

"Elyssa?" Monika says. "Are you alright?"

They hurt me, you sob. They hurt me every day. They didn't leave me alone. They strapped me to a table and had their way with me. I don't exist... I don't exist...

"Sure you do!" Sayori says in a desperate attempt to cheer you up. "You're my friend, Elyssa. We hang out all the time."

Sayori scoots her chair over to yours and wraps her arms around you. The loving embrace of a close friend works wonders in melting away the memories of pain and suffering. Her touch is enough make you stop crying and smile instead.

"Starting tomorrow," Monika says from her podium, "we're going to begin our first activity as a Literature Club. Every day, we'll share poems and provide constructive feedback. We'll use this as a way to move on to bigger, more exciting things. We'll do this for about one week. Any questions?"

Natsuki and Yuri ask questions, but you're not paying attention to them. Your attention is on Sayori, who, despite her depression, is assuring you everything will be okay.

But maybe she's just lying.

*

That night, you didn't go home. After the Literature Club said their farewells for the day, you gathered your materials and pretended to leave. They all headed for the school doors, but you went to the bathroom and sat, and waited... and waited... and waited...

While you waited, your third eye opened the widest it's ever opened. Your five senses became something fierce.

The time is 2304, and there is only one person inside this school at this hour: you. It's still chilly and rainy outside, where you long to be, but you have a plan. They want poetry? You're going to give them poetry. You walk the dark and scary hallways tonight, the red glow of your third eye lighting the way. The only thing dark and scary about these hallways is you, and heaven help anyone you find.

You're ready to kill.

In the club room, you fetch a piece of paper, bite the tip of your finger off in a single chomp—it hurt a little bit—and you write your first poem with your own blood. After you're finished, you spit your fingertip into your palm, and reattach it to the rest of your finger. As if you're a living magnet, the missing part of your body is drawn to the severed part, where the bone, tissue, and skin reconnect and regenerate. Your finger is whole again.


	7. Edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri's got a secret to tell you ♥ OwO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Welcome to the Club  
> Chapter 2: What's Your Name?  
> Chapter 3: Depression  
> Chapter 4: Three  
> Chapter 5: It's Okay  
> Chapter 6: Read My Poem  
> Chapter 7: Edge  
> Chapter 8: Hanging Out  
> Chapter 9: At Break-Neck Speed  
> Chapter 10: Trapped  
> Chapter 11: School Festival  
> Chapter 12: Welcome to the Club

You didn't get a wink of sleep last night.

You didn't need any.

When succumbing to the euphoric feeling of absolute pleasure, more powerful than a climax during sexual intercourse, why the hell would you need to sleep? From dusk until dawn, all three of your eyes stayed open, and none of them are showing signs of closing anytime soon. You've arrived, this is who you really are. What brought you to this? What was it, throughout the course of time, that made you this way? You're so damned powerful it's almost scary.

Sayori: you've begun to doubt if she's really your friend. Think about it: how long have you really known Sayori? Since you were five, right? Why, then, don't you remember anything else—even from last week? Where were you last week? What were you doing? If you remember Sayori from the time you were five years old, how come you don't remember when you were six? Seven? Eight, nine, ten, eleven... What's got your memory locked inside a room separate from your own? And where is the key to unlock the door to that room? These are the things you think about Sayori through the night.

Natsuki: you're convinced that Natsuki hates you. Why wouldn't she? She and Monika said that you entered the club room and pulled Natsuki by the hair. You have no recollection of that, but it must be true... right? But how can it be true? What if they're lying? If you did something like that, wouldn't you remember it? You want to kill Natsuki, right? Why, then, wouldn't you remember something like pulling Natsuki's hair? A pang of sadness clouds your euphoria. You missed an opportunity to hear Natsuki scream. But it's okay, because today, she's going to beg you for mercy.

Yuri: what the fuck is with that book Yuri is reading? Day in and day out, she's got that book open, and her nose buried deeper in its pages than yours in Monika's butt. Monika DID say she was going to sit on your face in that vision you had—but was it really a vision? Or was it real? Do you even give a damn? No. It doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is killing them, but not before finding out what happened to the previous fifth member. All this time, that's all you really wanted to know. And Yuri is going to be the first one to tell you. Natsuki can wait, Yuri's going to die first.

Monika: she can just fuck off.

Now that you've got your mind set and your bearings in order, you've taken yourself to the club room at 0611. It's still early. Only faculty staff are showing up at this hour.

A teacher walks into the literature club room. You'd forgotten that this room is used for an actual class before Monika and friends come to take it over after school. You're in the closet where Natsuki keeps her manga hidden. You're looking over some of her manga titles. You never were one for manga, or anime, or any of that kind of stuff. You never were one for anything, really. The teacher doesn't see you. She looks right at you, but she doesn't see you. She even comes into the closet to take a look at a few things, you're standing right in front of her, and she doesn't see you. You look into the teacher's eyes, your sharpened vision detecting the lack of a reflection.

You're invisible.

You could kill the teacher right now, but that would not satisfy you. Nothing would satisfy you more than killing the members of the Literature Club, one by one. You're going to take your time and enjoy their screams. You might even masturbate to the sound of their suffering, who knows? The suffering of other people make you a little bit wet.

You sit on the floor in the closet, and you stare off into space. Relaxed, you find that visions are beginning to unfold before your eyes.

The first vision is about the days of Literature Club past... you assume, anyway. The previous fifth member is there, and his name's—you don't know. All you know is he got too close to each girl in the Literature Club. At least, that's what your first vision about him showed. This one is a little bit different. You can see him confronting the four Literature Club girls—Sayori, Natsuki, Yuri, and Monika, or SNYM, if you're into acronyms—and despite the loss of context surrounding their situation, you can tell that tempers are flaring on all sides of the argument. It's really difficult to make out anything that's being said, because everyone's yelling over each other. Even Sayori looks a little bit angry, and you never see her get that way. Natsuki looks like she wants to tear someone's head off, Yuri looks like she wants to stab somebody, and Monika looks like a mother who's had it just about up to here with her club members' behavior. The previous fifth member, the only boy in the group, is facing off with all four of the girls, animatedly shouting at the top of his lungs. You watch this play out for about ten seconds, and that's when everyone stops to take a breath and only the boy can be heard saying, "No! That's it! I've had it! I quit! I'm done! You can find someone else! This is wrong, and you all know it! If there's any humanity left in any of you, you'll quit, too!"

"Wait!" Monika pleads with him, as he walks out the door and slams it shut behind him. He's gone. Monika sighs. She doesn't seem like the type of girl to cry easily, but this incident actually made her eyes well up. Monika dries her tears and addresses the remaining club members. "Well, THAT could have been handled better," she chides them, her tone taking an edge sharper than Yuri's knife, from the vision before, when she stabbed herself to death. "Jesus Christ, you all had one job to do, and that was to keep quiet and let me talk to him. Then you, Natsuki, had to speak up. And you, Yuri, shame on you. I thought you were better than that. There's a reason I made Sayori the vice president—"

"Fuck's sake, Monika, stop with the pretense already!" Natsuki yells over her. "Maybe he's right. This HAS gone on long enough. Do you not feel anything, Monika? That was your boyfriend who just left! Why are you not going after him?"

"Because this is our job. We see this through until the end... there's no telling what's going to happen if we quit now. Yusuke..."

Yusuke? Is that the name of the previous fifth member of the Literature Club? What a common name. You could've guessed a name like that.

Monika is on the verge of tears again. "Yusuke's... gone. It's over the moment we quit. We can't quit. No matter how much we want to quit, we can't."

Yuri returns to her seat and huffs irritably. She digs a knife out of her uniform pocket and starts playing with it.

"Yuri, why do you have that knife?" Sayori asks her.

"To keep you away from me," Yuri says coldly. "If any of you come within three feet of my desk, I'm going to kill you."

"Grk! Monika, just throw Yuri out. She's a psychopath," Natsuki says.

"I don't have the authority to make that call," Monika reminds her. "I'm a club president—"

"Of a fake club..."

"—yes. I'm not our boss."

Natsuki sighs. "What were they thinking, hiring someone like her?"

"I can hear you, Natsuki," Yuri says, glaring over the tip of her knife at the pink-haired dwarf of a girl.

"Good! So can everyone else! You're not deaf."

"Knock it off!" Monika says, stamping her foot. "Get your acts together, both of you! We need to follow a new protocol, now that Yusuke's gone."

*

The second vision comes in the form of... yourself, and Yusuke, alone in the school corridor, one rainy afternoon. Yusuke is saying to the you in the vision, "What do you want in life?"

The you in the vision tosses her blonde hair and says, "I want to be good."

"What kind of good do you want to do?" he asks her.

"The kind of good that pulls me through."

"And what if you fail?"

"I won't. Until now, I've spent my life in failure. Not even failure can last forever. You can't go through life without getting SOMETHING right."

"You're very optimistic, for someone who went through what you went through. Can you forgive us for keeping you in the dark? You understand we have no choice, right?"

"I understand. I'll keep playing along until something gives."

*

The third vision reveals itself to you. Sayori is talking to Monika out behind the school. They're still dressed in their school uniforms.

Monika is saying to Sayori, "Remember, you were her friend since she was five. You grew up together. You're her best friend. Got it?"

"Yeah," Sayori says sullenly. "Monika?"

"Hm?"

"What if... what if I really WANT to be her friend? I don't care what she is, she's a human to me, she has a soul, she's so pretty, and... I'd love to be just like her."

"You're kidding, right?" Monika puts her hands on her hips. "Sayori, don't screw this up. Just stick to protocol, and you'll be safe. As long as she believes we're her clubmates, the third eye won't open."

"How will we know if it does open?"

Monika looks at the ground, collecting her thoughts before answering, "We won't."

*

The fourth and final vision begins.

Monika is walking to the school side-by-side with a tall, orange-haired man with a beard and glasses. The man is dressed in a business suit, and Monika is dressed like a high school girl, in that same uniform you've always seen her wear.

"This project is closely controlled," the man instructs her. "None of you are going to come to harm. This, I assure you. We've installed cameras all over this facility, so we will be able to monitor her every move, from the moment she arrives, to the moment she leaves."

"Okay," Monika says tonelessly.

"We need her to believe that she's really going to school, so we've invested in no small number of actors. You're all going to follow a strict schedule, for one week at a time."

"Okay."

"Just remember your role, follow protocol, and be the best high school girl you can be." As he walks alongside Monika, the tall man spares her a soft gaze. "Monika. I wish I could put someone else up to this—anyone else... but their instructions are absolute. We can't disobey them, no matter how much we may want to. You were chosen for your talent. You, Yuri, Sayori, and Natsuki—you're all very talented individuals. If... it's any consolation, each of you will be awarded one million yen for every week of successful test results."

"...Okay..."

The man grabs Monika and pulls her into a hug. She hugs him back. Monika fights back her tears, saying, "Thanks... dad."

*

How time flies when you're lost in your own mind. That was... interesting. Now you have the answers you were looking for, but at the same time, you have new questions. Maybe you'll hold off on killing the Literature Club members, at least for long enough to learn more about this so-called "closely controlled project," as Monika's father so eloquently put it.

You know what else? Now that you've been sobered with this new information, your third eye is getting sleepy. The euphoria is ending by the minute. You look at the clock in the empty classroom, and it looks like school has actually just dismissed for the day. You were sitting in the closet throughout the entire school day, dreaming these dreams of yours, but were they your dreams, or the dreams of another?

Your third eye now closed, you've lost the urge to kill. That's... good. You need information first. Right?

You get up off the floor, knees wobbling, and you make your way to the desk you always sit at. As soon as your rear end hits the seat, the door slides open and in walks Natsuki. She freezes at the sight of you. You just look at her, and you offer a half-hearted wave. She returns your wave with a small wave of her own, before scampering off to the closet in the back of the room.

In comes Yuri next. Instead of going to her seat, she comes up to you. "Elyssa... do you have a moment?"

Sure, you say. What's up?

"Your outburst yesterday reminded me of the main character in the book I'm reading. The way you burst out laughing, the way you put out so much energy, and then your body gave out when it was over. It... spoke to me, huhu..."

You look Yuri in the eyes, not buying her act for a second. She's an actress. She's getting paid a million yen a week to keep you in the dark. You've been in the dark all this time. These times have been especially dark for you. What will you say to Yuri, now that you've seen the light at the end of your dark days?

You did decide to play along with this farce, to get information. You have no intention of breaking character now. You silently plead your third eye to stay shut throughout this endeavor, because you've started to wonder if your third eye is what's causing lapses in your memory.

Spoke to you, how, you ask her, taking a genuine interest in the tale that Yuri is about to spin.

"The main character is living in a controlled project, you see. Never once in her life has she seen freedom. She was born in the prison where she grew up. They started their project on her when she was only three years old. In this story, the main character is the first to survive the initial trials after the first breakthrough. I can't tell you much more than that, though, because it'd be a major spoiler! But... uu... it's a really good story. You should read it."

Yes I should, you agree. By the way, what's the main character's name?

Yuri wonders if she should tell you. "Well, she... uu, I mean... I can't say too much. Sorry. It'd spoil the story.

Is her name Elyssa, you say, passing your question off as a joke.

"No, that's the name of her older sister, who was executed." Yuri realizes she let slip something she shouldn't have. "I mean...! Uh! That's not really what happens. Forget I said anything!" She hurries to her seat, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

In this story, Elyssa was the name of the main character's... older sister...? Your sister went missing when you were three. Elyssa...? Your sister's name was Elyssa? But your name is Elyssa. Are you the missing sister? Or...?

You can't help but look back at Yuri. Her face is red, and she's using her open book to hide. The book has a strange symbol on the back that you swear looks familiar. The title of the book is The Portrait of Markov.

Who the hell is Markov?


	8. Hanging Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sayori invites you to hang out with her. UwU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Welcome to the Club  
> Chapter 2: What's Your Name?  
> Chapter 3: Depression  
> Chapter 4: Three  
> Chapter 5: It's Okay  
> Chapter 6: Read My Poem  
> Chapter 7: Edge  
> Chapter 8: Hanging Out  
> Chapter 9: At Break-Neck Speed  
> Chapter 10: Trapped  
> Chapter 11: School Festival  
> Chapter 12: Welcome to the Club

Questions are tumbling through your mind when Sayori walks in, followed closely by Monika. Sayori comes over and sits next to you. She smiles and waves. You force a smile and wave back.

Monika starts off today's meeting with, "Today's the day! This marks day one of our poetry hour. Did everyone write their first poem last night?"

Noises of collective agreement come from the club members, sitting scattered throughout the room. Monika chooses now, of all times, to address this.

"Why do you guys sit so far apart, anyway?"

No one answers. You think that's a little bit awkward, so you force yourself to speak up. You say, Everyone's more comfortable in their own world, I guess.

"Yeah, pretty much," Natsuki agrees with you. "I like the back near the closet. Yuri likes it over there. Sayori and Elyssa like it up front, because they're a couple of goody-two-shoes."

"Hey," Sayori says with the smallest amount of indignation she can muster, following with a giggle.

You simply shrug. Whatever.

Wait, did you write a poem last night? You could have sworn you—

Oh, no...

It was at this moment you realized... you completely and utterly fouled up any and all future attempts to earn your club members' trust. Monika notices something on the podium that wasn't there yesterday. She picks up the paper you wrote on, smithing a poem in your own blood.

Monika 's forehead beads with sweat when she reads what you wrote. Come to think, what DID you write? It must be enough to scare Monika. She puts the paper down and suddenly excuses herself from the room. The next thing you know, Monika is hurrying out the door.

"What the heck just happened?" Natsuki bursts. "Did anyone else see that? Am I going crazy? Did Monika just freaking ditch us?"

"I don't know," Yuri says. "I'll go check on her."

"N-no, it's okay, I'll do it!" Sayori says.

No, I'LL do it, you say, putting your hand on Sayori's shoulder and shoving her back down into her seat. You both stay here, you tell Sayori and Yuri. Sayori smiles nervously, and Yuri is speechless. When this is all over, you're going to have a little word with all the club members about lying to you this whole time.

Providing you don't kill them first.

Stealthily, you slip out of the clubroom, and you follow the sound of Monika's whispers down at one end of the empty hallway. The weather outside is as nasty as ever: gloom and rain. You find Monika around the corner next to the water fountain, and you catch her finishing a conversation with her cellular phone.

Who were you talking to? you inquire.

"Ahaha... no one?"

Monika attempts to walk past you. Hell no, you've had it. Your third eye is twitching. You seize Monika by the collar of her uniform and you pull her back. You don't know how you got so strong, because you're essentially manhandling Monika as though she is paper. You slam her back against the lockers and thrust your hand against her throat, finding her pulse as you start to constrict her windpipe with your fingers and thumb.

Tell me right now, you whisper, or I will tear your throat out.

"Elyssa?"

Shit! You release Monika's throat and return your hand to your side. Sayori rounds the corner, having seen nothing.

"What'cha doing, guys?" she asks.

"Ahaha, nothing, Sayori," Monika manages in between a series of coughs.

"Were you two... kissing?" Sayori says.

Yes, you say. We were making out. Right here, in a secluded hallway. Monika and I were really going at it. Isn't that right, Monika?

Your goal here is to put Monika on the spot as much as you can.

Monika shakily agrees. "Y-yes! We were just... experimenting, I guess..."

Sayori nods and heads back to the clubroom ahead of you two. When she's out of earshot, you turn to Monika and whisper, I know what you're up to, Monika. You're acting. You're all acting. This place is not a school. So who were you talking to? Your boss? How's your dad doing?

"How did you know about that...?"

My third eye has been opening off and on. Every time it does, I just have this... URGE to KILL YOU.

"Shit," Monika hisses. Now it's Monika's turn to grab you by YOUR collar and pull you down the empty hallway, farther away from the clubroom. She drags you into a different empty classroom, keeping the lights off so she can communicate with you in the dark. "You're right. We need to keep acting, Elyssa. Please, don't tell anyone else about your third eye. Okay?"

What the hell are you hiding from me?

"There's too much to mention, and not enough time. If we don't stick to our schedule, they'll start asking questions."

You have a feeling "they" wasn't a reference to Sayori, Natsuki, and Yuri.

So what do you want me to do?

"Pretend you don't know anything. I'm going to fill Sayori, Natsuki, and Yuri in after we dismiss from the Literature Club, okay? Remember, don't talk to anyone who's not a member of the Literature Club. We are your only allies here. Please, you have to believe me."

That doesn't sound like a lie. Based on what you remember from your visions, Monika is definitely telling the truth. You tell Monika about seeing Yusuke in your visions.

"You and Yusuke were f... friends..." Monika avoids your eyes. "You probably don't remember what happened, do you?"

No, you say. What happened?

She isn't in a hurry to answer that question. So you supply, The Literature Club had a blowout and Yusuke stormed out of the clubroom. That was the last time you guys saw him, wasn't it?

"Yes..."

Where is he?

"He's probably been captured. I only hope they didn't execute him."

Execute him?

"Insubordination comes with a steep price, Elyssa. The reason why I dragged you to this classroom, of all places, is because I tampered with the cameras and microphones in here. It's one of my secret safe spots around the school."

I see.

"Oh boy, this is a lot to take in. Tell me about your third eye tomorrow. Before our next club meeting, meet me in this classroom."

Okay.

The two of you head back to the clubroom, acting like nothing happened.

"I'm back!" Monika announces, entering the room ahead of you.

You return to your seat next to Sayori, who's wearing a mischievous grin when she asks, "How did Monika taste?"

Uh, good, she tasted good, you lie. We made out. Mm-hm. Yep. We're lesbians. Yep. You're hoping that your ridiculous rhetoric will throw Sayori off your trail. You've got too many questions now, and not enough answers. Perhaps that's why the whole club didn't answer your inquiries about the previous fifth member, Yusuke, because of what happened. It makes sense. They would have let slip that this was just some kind of simulation. For now, you're going to make the rest of the members believe you're still in the dark.

"So let's share poems!" Monika says a few minutes later.

Monika takes your poem, the one you wrote with your own blood, folds it up, and tucks it in her uniform pocket. You force yourself to write another poem to replace it, wishing you could remember what you wrote.

The first person you exchange poems with is Sayori. Her poem is titled "Ribbons," and it goes as such:

Spinning dance, a ribbon twirl,  
Ribbon fastened pink haired girl,  
Dressed in ribbons so bright and pink,  
She dances a dance that makes me think,  
"Whoa, how pretty, can she also fly?"  
She hears me ask it, and gives it a try,  
She leaps in the air and falls back down,  
And then stands up and asks me, "Why?"

And that's Sayori's poem. You lay the paper she wrote the poem on down on the table and say, That's pretty good, Sayori.

"Thanks! Yours was pretty cool, also! Hehe..."

You disagree, you think your poem is kind of stupid, considering you had to write it point-blank in five minutes. The title of your poem is "School Major." Here's how it went:

Major Klakla, Major Fawn,  
Major fuckbrain, major problem.  
Halle-fucking-lujah, major shitface,  
I've got a major issue, and it's your face.  
You make me want to take my fist  
And put it where you just got kissed—  
Up your ass, you major jacktard,  
It's big enough, it won't be that hard.  
Major Klakla and Major Fawn  
Are majorly minor, and they're major GONE,  
Because I killed them with my major gun,  
Major Klakla, Major Fawn.

Yeah... your poem was kind of stupid. There may or may not have been a little bit of interference from your third eye. It seems whenever your third eye opens, your rationality starts to fade, and your thoughts become more violent. How much of that was you, and how much of that was compelled by your third eye?

Swapping partners, you now read Natsuki's poem. She wrote a pretty little piece called "My Books." Here's how it went:

All my books have pictures,  
I guess that much is true.  
I have a lot of books that  
I would love to show to you.  
If you could be more open,  
I promise you this truth:  
Read my books and you will feel  
Like you could jump above the moon.

It's clearly a poem about Natsuki's manga. She's got a complex, probably. You tell her you liked her poem, but she doesn't believe you.

"Why don't you tell me what you really think of it?" Natsuki says moodily.

Okay, you say, I really think it brought your love for manga to light, and I enjoyed reading it.

"Hm. Well, okay."

Natsuki reads your poem. She smirks, and then she laughs. "What kind of a poem is this?! Ha ha ha!"

A poem I wrote in five minutes, you mutter, gimme a break.

Natsuki can't seem to stop laughing. You snatch your poem out of her hand and say, Thank you, before moving right along to Yuri. Damn it, why does Yuri have to be prettier than you?

"Hi, Elyssa," Yuri greets you shyly. She's so big and tall. Her hair, like a dark purple curtain of silk. If you push on her, she might just float away. "Here." She trades her poem for yours. Well, hopefully she won't burst out laughing like Natsuki did.

Yuri's poem is "Blood Wheel." Huh. You kind of like that title. Blood Wheel, huh? Curiously, you read further...

Chrysanthemums of red, revolving like a wheel  
O whirl of color cast a wreath upon me  
I will never run, I will never hide  
I'll always embrace the with love at first sight  
Blades of sound touch crisply my ears  
And I know it's the sound that brings me home  
To a time and a feeling not so far away  
I bathe myself in blood

O...kay, you think, what am I supposed to make of this? You look at Yuri, whose eyes appear to have glazed over at your poem.

"Elyssa..."

I know, I know, you say, it's not very good. I had to write it in five minutes, give me a break.

"Uu... How did I do?"

Honestly? You did pretty good at this one, you say. I don't understand what you were conveying here, but you got your point across.

"I see..."

Such an ambiguous response. Yuri hands you your poem back, and you return hers.

You move on to Monika. Great. Monika.

"Hi, Elyssa! Ready to share your poem?"

Not really, you mutter, it sucks ass.

"Nonsense! Here, read mine, and I'll read yours."

Sighing, you trade poems with Monika, whose poem is titled... "Third Eye"

Your eyebrows go up. Monika's poem reads:

Elyssa, pretend that I wrote a poem. I want to tell you something that no one else can hear. Be careful around Yuri. Not all of us are on good terms with society. Last month, Yuri was arrested and charged with murder, but because Salvato Enterprise took interest in her, she's become a ward of the government. Basically, she's under special custody that allows her to participate in this project. She was given the death penalty and sent to death row, where she was supposed to wait for the day she'd hang, but a representative from Salvato Enterprise came to the prison and presented official papers, relaying the government order to release Yuri into the custody of the Enterprise. It is here where she will work out her sentence through the Enterprise, or where she will be condemned to die—by your hand. We all have an idea what we're dealing with. We all know you could snap and kill us at any given moment. I'm thankful to have gotten this chance to come clean with you before that day comes. As a final piece of advice, spend as much time with Sayori as you can. She really is on your side. Go to her house, stay there for as many nights as you possibly can. Natsuki is okay, you can trust her. You gave her quite the scare before, but she'll warm up to you. Remember: DO NOT BE ALONE WITH YURI, and DON'T LISTEN TO ANYTHING SHE TELLS YOU.

You finish reading Monika's "poem," and you look at her. You say, Good poem, I like it.

"Ahaha, yours was good, too!"

*

That concludes today's Literature Club meeting. As you're all preparing to leave the room, you catch sight of Yuri out of the corner of your eye, staring you down. Fear trickles into your veins. It seems you're not the only killing machine here. Yuri wants to kill you, you're sure of it. But you doubt she'll be successful. Maybe her goal is to set you off, so you'd snap and kill everyone else. You'll have to be mindful of that.

"Elyssa!" Sayori comes up to you, pulling your attention away from Yuri. "Wanna hang out at my house?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would've uploaded this sooner, but a family member went to the hospital several days ago, and I haven't been in the right place, mentally. Doing better now. Thanks for reading!


	9. At Break-Neck Speed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! It's almost time for the School Festival! Hurry, Natsuki needs help baking cupcakes! XOXO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1:  
> Chapter 2:  
> Chapter 3:  
> Chapter 4:  
> Chapter 5:  
> Chapter 6:  
> Chapter 7:  
> Chapter 8:  
> Chapter 9: At Break-Neck Speed  
> Chapter 10: Trapped  
> Chapter 11: School Festival  
> Chapter 12: Welcome to the Club

You don't believe it, but you actually remember going to Sayori's house. You stayed the night there last night, and the two of you talked about anything and everything under the sun. It was strange, because the more you talked to Sayori, the more confident you started to feel that your third eye would not open again, anytime soon. Talking to your friend, Sayori, made you not want to kill anyone anymore. Sayori likes you, she really, really wants to be your friend. You know you can trust her, and trust her, you will.

*

It's sunrise, and you're waking up in the cot Sayori let you borrow. You're sleeping in Sayori's bedroom, and Sayori is still curled up under her blanket. You look at the clock.

Oh no! You're late for school!

You jump off your cot, run over to Sayori's bed, and you start to shake Sayori violently. You shake her so hard that her head rolls off and falls on the floor. Her face has been peeled off, and a bloody skull stares sleeplessly back at you.

*

It's sunrise, and you're waking up in the cot Sayori let you borrow. You're sleeping in Sayori's bedroom, and Sayori is still curled up under her blanket. You look at the clock.

Hey, you woke up on time.

You carefully climb off your cot and walk over to Sayori's bed. You put your hands on Sayori's shoulder and gently shake her. Wakey-wakey, Sayori. She doesn't wake up. You draw her blanket down and find a blood-soaked bed, with half her body missing.

*

It's sunrise, and you're awake. What the fuck is this? Double dream? You pinch yourself to make sure you're not dreaming this time. It hurts. You sit up and turn your head. Sayori is still curled up under her blanket. You look at the clock.

Just in time to get ready for school. Sayori doesn't live far from it. Surprisingly, she lives just down the street from Natsuki, who actually made an appearance last night. She stopped by Sayori's house around 1900, that's seven o'clock. You were actually the one who answered the door when Natsuki knocked. You didn't have to imagine the shock on Natsuki's face when she saw you. She was still a little bit scared of you, but Sayori insisted that everything was alright. Natsuki came in and played games with you and Sayori for a while, before heading back home. Natsuki and Sayori talked about the School Festival coming up, and how the Literature Club should do something.

"Knowing Monika, she'll have me making 'cute' things," Natsuki was grumbling last night.

Your fresh interactions with Natsuki in Sayori's house made you really like the pink-haired dwarf of a girl. She's cute, she's funny, and she's surprisingly social for someone who acts like a recluse in the Literature Club room. After Natsuki left last night, Sayori filled you in on her own plans for the School Festival.

*

It's that time again. School is finished, and you meet Monika in that out-of-the-way classroom. Once she's inside the dark classroom with you and closes the door behind her, she cuts to the chase.

"I have bad news, Elyssa," Monika says, her voice touched with a note of sadness. "They're onto me. It doesn't matter how smart I think I am, they still know I'm insubordinate. It's got to be why they sprang the 'School Festival' on us. We only have one day to prepare. This might be my final act while I'm still... human... Elyssa, please, just remember one thing: Sayori, Natsuki and I wanted to get you out of here. You deserve to be free. Yuri's working with them. Whatever happens, don't give up. Remember who your real friends are. And if you see Yusuke again..." Monika's eyes start to fill with tears. "If you see him before I do, tell him I'll always love him. I might never become a part of his reality, not now that he..."

I understand, you say. To be frank, Monika, until now, all I wanted to do was kill every fucking one of you. Sayori, Natsuki, Yuri, AND you. But you know what? It sounds to me like you four won't be the ones I'm killing. I've got someone else in mind.

"Elyssa," Monika says, noting a cautionary element, "don't do anything stupid. Salvato Enterprise has the necessary tools and weapons to keep you subdued. Even if you go wild, they'll put you right back in A114."

What is... A114?

"It's your room. That's been your room since you were three years old."

Since I was... three? Then Yuri's book—

"I'm only telling you this because you've likely already figured it out, thanks to Yuri. You see... you're not Elyssa. That was the name of your older sister. When you watched her get dragged away screaming, that was your first trauma. They brought you into a room and forced you to witness your sister's execution. I don't like to do this, but... do you remember how it happened?"

You DO remember, actually. It's coming back to you. It's as if Monika's words triggered an event inside your brain. Yes, you say. It took three grown men to take me to that room. My third eye was open back then, but it was unstable. When I saw them stick the needle in my sister's neck, I remember... somehow giving off a crazy amount of... I don't know what it was, but it made the power in the whole facility surge and fluctuate. They injected some kind of clear stuff into my sister's neck, and that was it. My sister never moved again. I remember the doctor calling her a "failure."

Monika nods grimly. "Yeah... that sounds like the report I read. You were very young when that happened. We all were. I at least want you to have your true identity, before the School Festival. It's all I can give you. Your name is Lib—"

The door to the classroom opens, and a creepy looking Yuri slowly pokes her head in. "Helloooo? Huhu. It's time to start the club meeting, Monika. Hi, Elyssa."

"Hey, Yuri," Monika replies, visibly unsettled. "We'll be right there."

Yuri smiles at you, as she slowly pulls her head back out of the room and closes the door with a soft click. You then hear a very fast set of footsteps, and you can only imagine that Yuri suddenly took off in a sprint back to the clubroom.

Monika sighs. "Jesus Christ... Anyway, I filled everyone in on your current state. Let's hope for the best. If you snap and kill us all, just know that I won't harbor any ill will toward you. I knew what I was signing up for."

Okay...

*

The club meeting goes exactly how you expect it to go. You had to write another poem in five minutes, because you were too busy doing other things last night. Everyone else found the time to write their poems at home. At least your poem yesterday had a little bit of flair, but the one you write today falls flat. Sayori's poem is good. Natsuki's poem is good. Yuri's poem is cryptic, but good. And Monika's poem is typical Monika. It's only after the poem sharing that Monika starts talking about preparations for the School Festival tomorrow.

"Yeah... it took us all by surprise, didn't it?" Monika laughs nervously. "We've got this, guys. All we have to do is designate responsibilities for preparation. Sayori, you know what you're going to do?"

"Yep!"

That's funny, you think, you don't seem to know what she's going to do.

"Yuri," Monika goes on. "You know what you're going to do?"

Yuri nods.

"Natsuki—"

"Making cupcakes, I know."

"I wasn't going to say cupcakes, but that's a good idea, Natsuki!"

"Whatever. At least I'm good at that."

They're still playing their roles. Fuck it, you're going to play a role, too. Since everyone is roleplaying, you might as well, right? You slap your hands down on that desk you're sitting at, startling everyone in the room, and you point at Natsuki while looking at Monika. I'm helping Natsuki tonight! We gotta bake those cupcakes!

"I mean, I can do it myself!" Natsuki hastens to say, panicked at your sudden enthusiasm.

No, Natsuki! Tonight! You! Me! We're making those cupcakes!

You and Natsuki go back and forth like this for the next few moments, all while Sayori giggles innocently at your antics, Yuri serenely takes a sip of her tea that she's so fond of, and Monika acts like a proud mother watching her kids grow up.

"Fine!" Natsuki resigns. "I guess I can take on a protege, if it means THAT much to you..."

Hell fucking yes! I'll even walk home with you!

"Just don't be loud, 'cuz my dad's usually asleep around—"

FUCK your dad, bitch! If he has a problem, I'll sew his mouth shut! Uh-oh, you think, your third eye is twitching. Calm down... calm down... calm down...

Natsuki looks desperately to the club president. "Monikaaaaa..."

The latter just puts her hands on her hips and chuckles. "It's decided then, Natsuki. You and Elyssa are going to pair up to get those cupcakes done."

Natsuki slumps down onto her desk. "I'm so fucked..."

*

After the club meeting ends...

"Whoa-whoa, HEY! ELYSSA! PUT ME DOWN!"

No! We're going now! Now-now-now-now-now!

Your third eye is barely open right now. You're just so excited for some reason. It must be the prospect of immediate danger that's making your third eye act up. Could it be a defense mechanism? After Monika told you that her fate is all but sealed, you've been feeling oddly excited. Someone's going to die soon, and it certainly isn't you, is it?

You forcibly piggy-back Natsuki all the way out of the school and then you run her back home. It's stopped raining. The clouds are actually clearing up, and they're letting the sun through. The longer you run with the weight of Natsuki hanging over your hips and shoulders, the more fatigued you get, and your excitement dies down. Good. Your third eye goes back to sleep by the time you reach Natsuki's house. You finally let her down off your back.

Natsuki stamps her foot. "Don't ever do that again! That was embarrassing!"

She wasn't in fear for her life? you think.

"Ugh, let me find my house key." She kneels down next to her backpack and claws her way through it. "Remember, my dad's asleep, so I need you to keep quiet. Okay? Seriously, if he sees you, he's gonna yell at me."

Then I'll yell at him, you say with a shrug.

"Not funny. My dad's crazy scary when he gets mad, and he's even scarier when he rapes me every fucking night in my bed."

...What?

"I said he's even scarier when he stumbles around the house, drunk off his ass. He falls into things and I keep thinking he's dead."

I thought you said something else, you say. Natsuki stops with her house key inserted into the key slot of her front door.

"What'd you think I said?"

You repeat back to her what you thought you heard.

"What the hell? God, if he did that, I'd probably call the cops or something. I wouldn't say THAT out loud, especially to someone I don't know so well. No offense."

None taken, you say. So how are we going to make cupcakes without waking your dad up? Won't he smell them?

Natsuki twists her house key, unlocking her front door as discreetly as she can. "Yeah, he knows I make cupcakes once or twice a week. He'll sleep through it. Thing is, he works night shift, so he doesn't wake up until around six o'clock? Seven o'clock? We've got at least an hour. Which means," Natsuki says, letting go of her key and leaving it in the key slot as she turns and points at you, "I need you to hide somewhere in my room when he gets up. I'll let you know when to hide. Don't hide in my closet, he always looks in there for some reason."

Okay.

"And don't hide behind the door, because he physically walks into my room every time he wakes up."

Okay. Um, why?

"Why what?"

Why does he walk into your room when he wakes up?

"No clue. So that means your best chance is to hide under my bed. I'll distract him as much as I can."

Okay.

Finally, after all of Natsuki's stalling, she quietly opens her front door and the two of you slip inside her house. She closes the door softly.

*

Natsuki's got a typical father-daughter home. You get a sense of what her father's like just from the smell of the place, and the little messes here and there, lurking like hidden fires waiting to spread. Yep, he's definitely an alcoholic. You can smell booze that he must've spilled somewhere.

After that weird hallucination you had outside, and what you heard about Natsuki's father, you've since started to wonder if he's been molesting Natsuki. Your third eye twitches at that. Maybe you'll molest Natsuki, too. She'll fucking enjoy that, because you're a girl, and you won't impregnate her like her father would, isn't that right? Just twist her fucking tit and—

Out of nowhere, you slap yourself across the face. Your third eye immediately goes back to sleep. Natsuki jumps at the sharp sound of your hand making contact with your own cheek. The two of you are standing in the hallway, about to enter Natsuki's room, and her father's bedroom door is right behind you.

Natsuki throws open her door in a panic, grabs you, and shoves you into her room. You trip and fall, and she falls on top of you, creating a loud thud on her floor. Your third eye twitches again, and you find your hand immediately slapping Natsuki on her left butt cheek. Through that school skirt of hers, her butt is kind of soft and warm. Natsuki gasps, shoves your hand away, and clobbers you in the face, catching your head between her fist and the floor. Seriously, she just ground-and-pounded you, and... it really didn't hurt. It simply made your third eye twitch even more.

No, you tell your third eye, stop it. Natsuki is not the enemy. Leave her alone. Your third eye obediently drifts off to slumber again.

Sorry about that, Natsuki, you say with a grin.

She's grinding her teeth at you. "You wanna die? Don't touch me like that again! I hate that!"

... Yep, her dad's molesting her. Your third eye peeks open, but now, instead of wanting to take every advantage of Natsuki, your third eye is compelling you to protect her at all costs, even if that means terminating her father. Maybe before you kill him, you'll shove one of his liquor bottles up his ass and fuck him with it.

"Hey... Elyssa...?"

You realize your third eye is wide open, and your vision is starting to change color, until you hear Natsuki's voice again. Your third eye loses all its fervor and closes, your urge to ravage Natsuki's father inside-out fading with it. Huh?

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hit you, I just—"

Don't worry about it, you say. But, could you please get off me?

"Gah!' Natsuki forgot she's still on top of you. She jumps back up and closes her door. "Damn it, the cooking supplies are in the kitchen. C'mon, let's get started. The faster, the better."

*

The two of you are baking cupcakes as quickly and quietly as you can. Natsuki makes a good chef, with the way she takes control of the kitchen and instructs you on how to go about the making of cupcakes. She really knows her stuff. Perhaps she has dreams of making food if she ever gets out of this alive. You're going to have to do your best to not kill her.

*

"He's up," Natsuki whispers urgently. "Shit! He's getting up early. It's only been thirty fucking minutes, fuck..."

The cupcakes are almost done, but you have to go hide.

"Go, go, go!"

You rush as quickly and silently as you can down the hall, but it's too late. Her father's door swings open, and he steps out in front of you.

Your third eye opens for a second and blinks before going back to sleep.

Natsuki's father stops just outside his bedroom, staring straight at you... or, straight through you. He looks like he has a hangover. Unshaven, smelling like booze, he outweighs you by at least fifty pounds. He's acting like he's having trouble seeing you, as if he's peering through a dark space. You chance looking down your own body, and it quickly becomes apparent that your third eye just made you invisible. Another defense mechanism? The same thing happened at school, when you were sitting in the club room closet where Natsuki keeps her manga. You decide to slowly back out of the hallway, so he may move forward without running into you. He shakes his head and goes into Natsuki's room instead. Curious, you follow.

You stand unseen in the doorway as you watch Natsuki's father fondle his own daughter's unused clothes. What a sick motherfucker. Your third eye tempted you to do the same thing earlier, but you told it no. He comes toward you, and you step out of the doorway, making room for him to leave Natsuki's bedroom and head into the kitchen, where Natsuki's standing.

"Good morning," Natsuki says to him, avoiding his eyes.

"Natsuki," he says, stepping close to his daughter... too close... and hugging her. She isn't hugging him back. "I'm sorry about yesterday. That wasn't me, that's not who I am. Please forgive me?"

Forgive him for what is anyone's guess. You watch his hand slide down Natsuki's back and give her derierre a soft squeeze. The only person clenching her fists harder than you is Natsuki.

"I forgive you," Natsuki says through clenched teeth. "I need to finish these cupcakes..."

He's molesting his own daughter. You shake your head... and you keep shaking your head... your head shake gets faster... faster... your third eye is opening, and this time, it's not listening to you. It's feeding off your subconscious desire to make Natsuki's father suffer. But no... don't kill him... God knows what that'll do to Natsuki. There's a better way. Your power is growing. You're doing everything you can to keep it suppressed, but your third eye wants you to do something about this situation.

Before you know it, your invisibility wears off and you rise into the air at the darkest, deepest end of the hallway, howling like a lost demon in a frozen abyss. Your howl is inhuman, and the molecules around you are compelled to change and materialize a pair of iron shackles locked to your wrists and ankles, each one of them dangling the brattle of heavy chains. Natsuki's father releases his daughter and spins around, and the moment he lays his eyes upon you, the way you levitate there in the darkness of the empty hallway, you can see the way you look through his terrified eyes.

You've taken on the appearance of a long-haired wraith from the deepest ward of a military hospital, dressed in a bloodstained hospital gown. The beautiful gold color of your hair has faded to a grayish white, and your locks are massed together, floating like octopus tentacles. Your eyes have lost any sign of life you once had, appearing like a pair of dead ivory pools. And your teeth—the way you bare your teeth as your jaw threatens to unhinge—your teeth have become sharpened, almost shark-like. Your nails have become powerful claws.

Natsuki is screaming in terror. She's frozen, and there's a trickle of piss running down her leg as a stain grows in her skirt.

Natsuki's father passes out because he's so frightened. He falls sideways and hits the floor, where he will lay until he wakes up.

In this state you're in, you've successfully unleashed your wrath without killing anybody. Nobody would guess that you're in total control right now. Your goal here was to ultimately terrify. A shame that Natsuki had to see it, but it's what she signed up for.

Right?

Now close, you command your third eye. I'm done here.

Everything just... fades. You descend back to the floor, feeling good, as if you just finished a workout. Natsuki's teeth are chattering. You are yourself again, not the crazy ghost in the hospital gown. You come down the hallway, enter the kitchen, and you say, Sorry, Natsuki, before making your way to the front door.

"E-Elyssa...?"

You shake your head at Natsuki and take your leave.

You can't face her right now.


	10. Trapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika feels trapped by her responsibilities. Why didn't you help her? Now she looks mad. :(

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Welcome to the Club  
> Chapter 2: What's Your Name?  
> Chapter 3: Depression  
> Chapter 4: Three  
> Chapter 5: It's Okay  
> Chapter 6: Read My Poem  
> Chapter 7: Edge  
> Chapter 8: Hanging Out  
> Chapter 9: At Break-Neck Speed  
> Chapter 10: Trapped  
> Chapter 11: School Festival  
> Chapter 12: Welcome to the Club

You can't remember how long it's been since you left Natsuki's house. You're in a controlled project, and everyone's an actor. Natsuki wasn't acting when she was screaming in terror at the sight of your unholy transformation. It felt good... but now, it doesn't. You feel miserable. Your memories of your lost sister are flashing in and out of your mind. Monika almost called you something else. Elyssa isn't your real name. Lib? You have a feeling you know what she was going to say, but you just don't want to accept it.

Where are you right now? You've been walking through the city for God knows how long. Why aren't there any cars? Oh, it's probably because Salvato Enterprise couldn't afford to hire that many actors. They didn't expect you to come this far, or something? What's going on with them? You've decided you have had enough of this project. You're taking control from now on. Nothing's going to stop you, because you're all-powerful. This city? It's just a prop. A stage set. You're being monitored on cameras right now. You look to the east and you look to the west as you continue to walk down this lonely road. This looks like a smaller version of Tokyo, but there is no one. It's so quiet you can hear your own breath. No honking. No mobs of people. No signs of life. You're on the loose. Are the doctors and scientiests at Salvato Enterprise nervous yet?

Oho, what's this? You've discovered a hidden camera, watching you from inside a bush. The bush is sitting at the base of a tree about twenty feet away from you, off the road. You walk over, reach into the bush, and you wrap your fingers around the camera, pulling it free of its hiding spot. You take a step back and hold the camera at the end of your extended arm, eye level. It appears to have a microphone attached. The little electric eye is on, so this baby is recording. You're in absolute control, you remind yourself. These bastards want a show? You're going to give them a show.

First, you bring the camera close to your mouth... Your third eye starts to open, and you feel the climactic power of your inner darkness rushing to the surface. You embrace a partial transformation, changing your anatomy to allow your jaw to painlessly unhinge, and your mouth open much wider than a human should ever be capable. Your teeth change shape and become sharper than Yuri's knife collection. And then you bite down on the camera, shorting the power and shattering the lense in your mouth. You can't help but snarl in delight while you chew the camera to pieces and devour it, swallowing down bit by electronic bit. Your digestive system is heightened, as is your metabolism. You could eat another human, what's a camera going to do to you?

Do these sons of bitches want to watch you now? Okay. You decide to strip your clothes off. You remove your top, your skirt, your shoes and socks, your bra, and your panties. There you are, standing in the middle of a... controlled project... naked and feeling the artificial wind of this deception of paradise. You allow your third eye to return to slumber, altering your form back to its natural state.

How do you like me now, you ask all the hidden microphones and hidden camera, as you spread your arms and twirl around and around, showing off your naked body. Get an eye full, bitches, because these are the last tits, this is the last pussy, and these are the last butt cheeks you're ever going to see, before I kill every fucking one of you. Do you understand me, Salvato Enterprise? I'm going to kill—every—last—one of you. And then I'm going to rape your master before I kill him. I'll rape his body, mind, and soul, and he'll WISH he were in hell.

Fuck yes, you will. You're in control, remember? You are now a god. You will make those filthy humans bow before you, and worship you. You ARE the endgame.

Your heightened sense of hearing detects two voices about a half a mile away. Leaving your clothes behind, your shamelessly naked self takes off running. You're moving with all the agility of something not quite of this world. You engage your third eye, rendering your physical form invisible, so much so that this false sunlight passes straight through you; you are a living apparition without a shadow.

Because you're unable to be detected by human eyes and possibly electric eyes as well—unless their technology allows them to detect body heat—you don't even bother hiding around the side of a building. Your bare feet step softly on the pavement, carrying you in arcs around Monika and her dad. The two of them look like they're out for a leisurely stroll, but their conversation rings dark and... more revealing than your lack of wardrobe, it seems.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take," Monika is telling him. "Libitina is going to snap again. I haven't died yet, but the others..."

"I'm sorry. We have to keep going, we just need to push a little bit further. This is all going to be over soon, I promise."

"You say that, but how soon is soon, dad?! Yusuke's gone..."

"I'm doing everything I can to stall their project. They have plenty of other males, they don't need to inocculate him, too. That wasn't the agreement."

"Where is he now?"

"Right now, he's in room B200."

"The second floor...?" There's a note of dread in Monika's question. "But that's the floor where—"

"Yes. They... see a potential in him. They believe they've made a breakthrough. He has a rare bloodtype, and the doctor wants to inocculate him so badly, but I promise, I won't let it come to that. They're violating their own terms of agreement. Insubordination or not, they've gone too far. They're too blind to see that their project has already failed. There's nothing Yusuke could have jeopardized, because the greatest mistake has already been made."

"What mistake is that?"

Monika's father smiles before he says, "They didn't count on Sayori and Libitina becoming friends. Sayori isn't insubordinate. If you recall, their orders were to 'make her believe you're her friend.' Well, what better way to convince someone you're their friend than actually becoming their friend? It backfired. Sayori is a special girl, and I fought to put her in this project. I'm glad to see I was right, and the doctor was wrong."

"She still killed Sayori," Monika points out. "Libitina killed everyone in the Literature Club many times, except for me. They've got to be in bad shape right now. How... are they? I've been here since the project began. Are they actually keeping my body sustained?"

"They are. I'm making sure of that. Natsuki, Yuri, and Sayori have suffered a lot of neurological damage, but the Enterprise hasn't given up on them yet. They're still administering nanotechnology to sustain them. If their Projections die anymore, it may cause permanent damage. They could become paralyzed, or even braindead. Libitina killed them too many times, you're right. If we're going to do anything, we need to do it now," Monika's father says, before turning his head to the side and yelling, "and it doesn't matter if we're being watched or listened in on! If you recall, doctor, everything we do, we do for the project! Monika's Projection hasn't been killed yet! Your work is coming along nicely, doctor!"

Monika lowers her head, her body trembling. You can smell the fear and anxiety coursing through her veins, propelled by the rhythm of her pounding heart. "I don't know what to do."

Her dad puts his hand on her shoulder and tells her, "Just keep doing what you're doing, and leave the rest to me. We're going to see this project to its conclusion. Everyone's going to be free, even Libitina."

Free? Even you? Hearing that disrupts your third eye, and your invisibility wears off. You materialize, startling Monika and her dad. They both have adverse reactions to seeing the nude body of a teenage girl. Come to think, how old even are you? You're old enough to know what is wrong and what is right, so that must mean you're grown up enough to make a difference.

"Hey! Hold it!" Monika's father yells, reaching toward you. You cock your head. Is he talking to you, or—

A loud pop, followed by the sting of razor sharp barbs entering your back, awakens your pain sensory. What happens next makes the seconds feel like hours. The sound of rapid clicking and your every muscle seizing up, causing you to fall over, makes you realize that you've been shot in the back with a taser. You don't scream, you actually want to laugh. It hurts, but it kind of tickles, too. You get tased for a full five seconds before whoever's holding the taser lets off the trigger. You start to get up, and the clicking resumes, as the taser charges your body with hundreds of thousands of volts. You fall on your belly, laughing. Stop it! Hahaha! That tickles!

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Monika's dad yells, showing potential signs of physical violence.

"Stay back, dear," a cool-voiced woman replies. She must be the one holding the taser. She lets off the trigger. "You knew this was coming."

Monika appears to be as distraught as her father when she says, "Stop it, mom! It's not going to do anything—"

"Be quiet!" Monika's (apparent) mother pulls the trigger again, activating her taser a third time. Now that's just rude, because you weren't even moving. Now she's just tasing you for fun, but you know what? You're kind of having fun. It doesn't hurt as bad as the first time. Maybe she thinks she's subduing you somehow? Think fast, Elyssa—no, Libitina. Think fast, Libitina. Everyone was acting... so you should act, too. You ham it up and let out the most convincing scream of agony you possibly can, all while fighting the urge to laugh. She releases the trigger, sounding pleased with herself. "The School Festival will commence as scheduled. I will perform the routine memory erasure."

"No, mom..."

"This is Project Libitina. I'm in charge, not you," Monika's mom says. "You only joined this project because of Yusuke. When are you going to learn to follow your own heart?"

"I AM following my own heart!" Monika shouts. "And you—" Her worlds become muffled. Her dad has his hand clapped over his daughter's mouth.

"Be careful what you say, Monika," her dad tells her regretfully. "Insubordination comes with a high price."

"And how are you doing," Monika's mom asks her dad. "You might've won custody of our daughter, but I'm still your superior. You will remove Monika's Projection from this zone and return her to the Bio-Weapon Development Center."

Monika's dad grimaces. "Please," he says, "just a bit more time. That's all I ask."

"You've already had a bit more time."

Despite the situation, you say, I think he needs a bit more time, too.

"Silence!" There she goes again, charging up her taser. You do your best to cry out in pain, but at this point, it's just silly. Does this woman not realize that you could just stand up and kill her? The taser hurts less and less every time she uses it.

"MOTHER, PLEASE!" Monika screams, desperate to end your suffering any way she can. Aw, that's sweet of her, to care so much about you.

"Be quiet, or you'll get tased, too," her mother warns, releasing the trigger again. "Projection or not, you can still feel pain as though it were your own body. I could do anything I want to you without the risk of killing you. If your Projection perishes, we've got a room full of them. Now, dear," she says, addressing Monika's dad, "help me take Libitina back to A114. She'll be released to the school for tomorrow's festival."

Monika's dad growls. "Yes, ma'am..."

Now you know why you have no memory of activity outside of school. You have a feeling their little "memory erasure" isn't going to work this time... but you'd be more than happy to act like it does!

And look at Monika. Wow, does she look pissed.


	11. School Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the School Festival! Now presenting, poems from the Literature Club. And Natsuki's cupcakes. And

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Welcome to the Club  
> Chapter 2: What's Your Name?  
> Chapter 3: Depression  
> Chapter 4: Three  
> Chapter 5: It's Okay  
> Chapter 6: Read My Poem  
> Chapter 7: Edge  
> Chapter 8: Hanging Out  
> Chapter 9: At Break-Neck Speed  
> Chapter 10: Trapped  
> Chapter 11: School Festival  
> Chapter 12: Welcome to the Club

Now you remember what they made you forget. Remember when you were strapped to the bed and given electric shocks to your temples? Yeah, that was part of the memory erasure routine. What is it with people and electricity? Why always electricity? Long story short, Monika's mother, with the help of her reluctant father, had you delivered through a secret door in one of the fake buildings that led into a very scientific looking facility, like straight out of a sci-fi movie. You were strapped to a bed and shocked with cables. Once again, unlike before, when it used to hurt, it's only slightly uncomfortable, and, in truth, kind of tickles. Still, you don't want them to know that it doesn't hurt you, so you do your best to make your agonized screams believable.

Everyone's an actor, after all.

At one point, you're afraid that they'll figure out that their memory erasure didn't work. They sit you in a chair and start waving their hands in front of your face. You don't know what kind of reaction they're looking for, so you just sit there with a blank expression on your face. Apparently that was the correct guess, because they were totally satisfied.

Have these people become complacent in their work? It must be true, that this has been your life since you were three years old. It's only natural for people to start taking their work for granted after so many years of the same old thing. These motherfuckers in lab coats are probably convinced that you'll never develop past the "berserking" stage, which is a term you've been hearing thrown around since Monika's mom and dad brought you here. The berserking stage is basically what you've been avoiding this whole time. Maybe you gave into it before, when you apparently killed Sayori, Natsuki, and Yuri's... Projections?

So the real Literature Club members are controlling cloned bodies from somewhere in this facility? It's like a video game, or a virtual reality scenario, except it might be like that one movie, about the guy who has to wake up... and how he's the one...

Oh, isn't this precious? Monika's mother told a green new hire that he's going to walk you to "school" tomorrow morning, and he has to hold your hand. Isn't that cute? He's fucking terrified. After all, he's not driving a Projection. That's he, himself. If you kill him, he's going to die for real. The smell of fear is intoxicating, but killing him would be a waste of energy. You really don't want to kill anyone now. Not anymore.

Now, you just want to torture them in the worst way possible. If they die, the fun ends, but if they're still alive, you can continue to hurt them, while getting off on their screams. Doesn't that sound like so much more fun than killing? See? You're not a murderer. You cherish life just like everyone else.

When did you start feeling this way? It could've been back at Natsuki's "house," when you scared her and her father—or the man acting as her father, come to think—so badly that they could have died of heart attacks. You liked that feeling. It was addictive. The best part is they're still alive, so you can continue to scare them.

Why kill? Why kill...? Why not just make them all your fucking bitches? Oh, and it looks like Monika's mom is the one who's in charge of everything. It looks like she's going to be the one you'll end up raping, body, mind, and soul. You're looking forward to it, aren't you?

*

"Uh... ummmm... o-okay, L-L-L-Libitina, l-l-let's g-go to s-s-s-school..."

The poor motherfucker Monika's mom put in charge of escorting you from the labs to the fake school in the morning is taking you by the hand. His hand is sweaty. His armpits stink. You almost feel sorry for this guy, but he'd taste so much better when he's pissing himself in terror.

You walk together with him, hand in hand. You pretend to be a brainless drone wrapped in a fresh set of school clothes. He walks you up to the front doors of the school. That's when you decide to have a little bit of fun. You turn to him—he's taller than you are—and you grab him by the collar and yank him down to your level. Maybe the hidden microphones can hear you, maybe they can't, when you whisper in his ear, I'm in control here, not your boss. Your best chance is to get the hell out of the Enterprise before it's too late.

"W-what? What are y-you going to do...?"

I'm going to kill everyone, so pretend you're sick and just go home.

"Okay..."

*

The school day is different. There are no classes. It's just the School Festival, and boy, is today bright and sunny. Lots of people are here at this school, hosting so many different events. Look at all those actors. Look at all those Projections. You are an apex predator among prey as you walk the intestines of the school, just waiting for the opportune time to cut loose and unleash hell on the entirety of the Enterprise.

Here you are at the Literature Club room for what may be the last time, but no one else knows that yet. Monika is here, and so is Sayori, and Yuri, and Natsuki.

"Elyssa!" Monika says freshly. "Glad you can make it!"

Just drop the pretense, Monika, you say in front of all the club members.

Smiles vanish. Tension sets in. You're in control here. You say, I know what you guys are doing, and it's time to end it. My name is not Elyssa, my name is Libitina, and this is nothing but a project to test me in my final stages of development as a living weapon. Personally, I think it's absolutely SICK that the Enterprise is making you all do this. But don't worry, today is going to be different. I'm going to free you all from your prisons. You'll no longer be a puppet at the ends of the puppetmaster's strings. You'll be free, and so will I. Let's burn the Enterprise to the ground.

Everyone is dumbstricken by your exposition. Monika and Yuri's expressions change, though their reactions are about as polar opposite as the North and South Pole. Monika? She has put all of her fear on display. Her grimace, the way she shakes her head, she knows something bad is about to happen. But Yuri, her mouth spreads into a maniacal grin, and then she starts laughing as she draws a menacingly long knife from the pocket of her school uniform.

Sayori and Natsuki both scream when Yuri lunges at you. Monika shouts, "No, Yuri, don't!" You're not scared of Yuri. She stabs you in the belly and you act like it's enough to end your life. You choke, spit, cry out in pain, and you do your best to act like you're dying as you fold in half and drop to your knees. Yuri lets go of the knife, and it remains buried in your stomach. It only slightly hurts. Just a pinch. You'll regenerate when the blade comes out.

"Get up, Libitina," Yuri says coldly. "We all know that's not enough to hurt you."

You stop choking and rise back to your feet. Gripping the handle of Yuri's knife, you pull it out of your belly and hurl it at Yuri, intentionally missing her left eye by an inch as the knife whizzes past her head and buries itself in the wall behind her. Yuri starts to laugh again.

"What, you're not going to kill me? Ha ha ha ha ha! What's the matter?! You're a killing machine! We're just fodder for you to have your way with!"

Not this time, you tell her as your knife wound regenerates, leaving only a bloodied hole in your uniform. I'm done playing your game.

As soon as you say that, a loud alarm goes off somewhere outside. You've never heard it before; none of your memories, fragmented or otherwise, tell you of a time when the song of a mechanical siren much like this one haunted your ears.

"No fucking way!" Natsuki bursts.

"No," Sayori says, eyes sparkling with tears.

Monika scowls and pulls out her cell phone. She dials a number, plants the phone to her ear, and rushes out of the club room.

Yuri keeps laughing. "Yes! Finally! See, everyone?! I should've been their project, not her! She's defective! I fucking told you all she's defective! Now they're coming to get rid of her! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

Pardon my ignorance, you say coolly, but who's coming to get rid of me?

"You'll see," Yuri says with a sick smile. "Prepare to die, Libitina. I'll make a better project than you."

Sayori grabs your arm and shakes it. "Libitina, you have to get out of here! Run! Get out of the school!"

The alarm continues to wail outside. It sounds like an air raid siren. It's unsettling, but it makes you excited. Everyone in the school is stampeding for the exit. This must be part of the Enterprise protocol: "When you hear this siren, get far away to safety."

So some people are coming to kill you? Bring it. There's nothing anyone can do to stop you. Before they get here, you decide that you're going to have a little bit of fun with Yuri. You snatch the purple haired bitch by the throat and slam her to the floor. You're kneeling beside her as you keep her pinned. She's choking and laughing. Yep. Insane, just like a murderer. How odd. Right now, you feel so human. You're so in control that you might not even be a weapon. What ARE you?

Sayori, you say sweetly, could you bring me Yuri's knife?

She actually does it. She trots over to the wall, grips the knife handle with both hands, and pulls the blade free, bringing it over to you. You use the knife to slash Yuri's top up the middle and rip it off, revealing her big ol' knockers, cupped in black lingerie. You cut the bra off as well, letting those nipple-top knockers hang free.

Wanna play, Yuri?

"What are you doing?! Get off me!"

You look up at Natsuki and say, Natsuki. Come down here.

The terrified dwarf of a girl actually obeys you. She's so fucking terrified that she probably thinks you'll kill her if she disobeys. You're loving this.

You tell Natsuki, Get down on your hands and knees, and suck on Yuri's tit.

"W...hat...?" Natsuki says numbly.

Do it, or I'll stab you.

"Okay! Okay!" Natsuki does exactly as you tell her. Keeping your hand down on Yuri's throat, you enjoy the show of watching two presumably straight girls engage in homosexual activity. Natsuki doesn't like this, and neither does Yuri.

Sayori starts crying out loud. You say to her, Sayori, you should get out of here while you still can. Whatever happens, I'll always be your friend.

Natsuki tries to pull away, but you grab the back of her head and force her mouth back down on Yuri's tit. Keep sucking on it, bitch, you tell her. You say to Yuri, You like that, Yuri? You like it when Natsuki nurses on you, you murderous slut?

Yuri's eyes roll into the back of her head. Despite herself, yes, she likes this. You stand up, releasing Yuri's throat. Yuri keeps laying there, and Natsuki continues sucking on her tit.

Good, you say, pointing down at them. I'm going to step out of the room, so you two better be in this position when I get back, or I'm ... um, going to stab you both, or something. You really have no intention of coming back here once you leave. You hand Yuri's knife to Sayori and you tell her, Have fun with this.

You leave Sayori alone with the romantic couple. Moments after you slip into the hallway and slide the club room door shut behind you, Yuri lets out a lustful, "Oh, Natsuki!"

And that's the last thing you hear before you head for the secluded classroom. The alarm is as noisy as ever outside. You open the door to the dark empty classroom and find Monika there, carrying on a conversation on her cell phone.

"...now! Please tell me you're ready! ... Yes, thank God, yes! Where is Yusuke now? ... What?! ... No... you've got to be—"

The alarm stops. Someone or something enters the school downstairs. A loud blast shakes the building and shatters windows on the lower floor.

Something dawns on Monika. She hangs up on whoever she was on the phone with. Tears start to roll down her cheeks. "Libitina... they got to Yusuke... they turned him into a weapon, just like you, and... that was my dad, he—he said they've... dispatched him to... deal with you—"

Someone or something screams downstairs. It's an inhuman scream, the kind of scream you're all too familiar with. The owner of that scream is starved for death, a lot like how you used to be.

But it doesn't make sense, you say out loud. It took them my whole life to make me this way, how did they change him so fast?

Monika's not talking anymore. She's broken. Her body falls limp and drops to the floor. She's dead. Or... perhaps she isn't. If that was just her Projection, maybe she lost connection to it.

Well, there's nothing left to do but go downstairs and see what the deal is! You throw open the classroom door and skip childishly through the hallways, humming a delightful tune that you just made up on the spot. La la la ♪

*

Oooooooh, look at him.

You're in the commons. The front portion of the school has been completely demolished. There before you stands a shadow whose features are gone, but you can definitely make out the shape of Yusuke. His image twitches and warps, unable to sit still despite the fact that he's standing there, fists clenched and unmoving. You can't see his eyes, but you know he's staring right at you.

Your third eye is opening. You can't stop it now, this is going to happen. The fire of competition burns in your heart.

Hi, Yusuke, you say to him.

"L i b i t i n a . . . C o m e c l o s e r . . ."

You walk toward him, allowing your third eye to open up wide. In mid-step, you transform in a flash of light. You're that crazy ghost you were back at Natsuki's place, with the floating locks of hair, the dead white pools for eyes, and shackles around your wrists and ankles, chains dragging along the floor as you walk.

Yusuke waits until you're close enough to throw a straight punch at your face. If he were anyone else, you'd have seen it coming, but he moves so fast that you get no chance to block or dodge. That powerful fist slams into your nose, caving your face in. That... actually hurt, very very badly. But you know what? You're just as fast as he is, so while he keeps his fist planted where it landed, pushing his knuckles in on you, you grab his arm with both hands and tear it clean from his shoulder with no effort. Now wielding a shadowy arm, you proceed to beat Yusuke over the head with his own extension. While you're assaulting Yusuke with his own arm, your face reconstructs itself.

Yusuke shrieks and sprouts a new arm. His regeneration is too rapid, you note. He's going to wear himself out before this fight's over. Just as you face regains its shape, Yusuke grabs you by the hair and swings you over his his head, slamming you against the floor. With you there on your back, he starts stomping your face over and over. You try to catch his leg, but he pulls it back and kicks your ribs so hard that you take flight like a soccer ball, and you sail across the destruction of the commons, colliding with the distant wall. You fall toward the floor, but you never reach it, because Yusuke is already up on you, where he catches you by the neck, suspends you over the ground, and bashes your head into the wall repeatedly.

He's got your back against the ropes, or so to speak. The moment he stops bashing you on the wall, you grab the chain dangling from your left wrist with your right hand, stretch it, and catch him in the throat, wrapping the chain around and constricting his airway. You pull so tightly that he lets you go and starts clawing at your chain.

Just go to sleep, you say sweetly.

Yusuke tries to gouge your eyes, but you pull your head back and then headbutt him in the face. You float into the air, carrying Yusuke by the stranglehold as you fly across the commons and swing him into the pillars still holding up the school ceiling. That's not all. Yusuke digs his shadowy claws into your arm and drags them down, tearing you open. You unfasten the chain on his neck and let him drop to the floor. He lands on his belly, but he's already getting back up. He only makes it to his hands and knees, when you crash down, driving your heels into his back with all the force of your body weight and supernatural power. His spine snaps, leaving him incapacitated for a moment.

Meanwhile, you stand over Yusuke, and you say to him, Stay down, if you keep this up, you're going to die. Don't you want to see Monika again?

"M o n i k a . . . W h e r e i s s h e . . . ?"

Instead of telling Yusuke, you kick him in the face so hard that his broken body flies across the commons, just like how he did to you. His bones snap again when he hits a table. You walk after him, saying, I can't have you finishing your regeneration just yet, I have to catch my breath.

"B i t c h . . ."

What's going to happen to you, you say, if you fail to kill me?

"T h e y ' l l d e c l a r e m e a f a i l u r e . . ."

Why didn't you just snap and kill them, instead of coming here and doing their bidding?

"B e c a u s e i f I d o n ' t , t h e y ' l l k i l l M o n i k a . . ."

I see, you say. Monika isn't here anymore. She left her Projection. She's probably looking for you. We could go find her.

"R e a l l y . . . ?"

Yeah.

"T h e n . . . " Yusuke finishes regenerating and climbs back to his feet. "I ' l l f o l l o w y o u r l e a d . . ."


	12. Welcome to the Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You were talked into joining the Literature Club. Your childhood friend introduces you to no one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Thank  
> Chapter 2: You  
> Chapter 3: For  
> Chapter 4: Reading!  
> Chapter 5: I  
> Chapter 6: Hope  
> Chapter 7: You  
> Chapter 8: Enjoyed  
> Chapter 9: It!  
> Chapter 10: See You  
> Chapter 11: Next Time! Oh, and  
> Chapter 12: Welcome to the Club

Now what?

That's what you bet the Enterprise lab monkeys are asking themselves. No doubt, they watched your duel with Yusuke on their many hidden cameras. They expected him to waste you and throw you away. Now what? What are they going to do, now that Yusuke went and fell in cahootz with you on this little journey the two of you are taking through the wreckage and out of the school? Who the hell is left to get in your way? Was Yusuke their only means of dealing with you? Because if so, they're quite simply fucked.

No, they've probably got the means of dealing with you, just like Monika said. The only way to ensure that Yusuke won't try to kill you again is making sure he meets up with Monika. She's in the lab somewhere. They all are. She's probably running around and raising hell with her dad right now. You can't wait to join in on the fun.

"This Way," Yusuke says, once the two of you have reached the downtown metro area. Hey, look at that. Just a small distance away, you spot the clothes you stripped off yesterday, laying in a pile and left untouched. Yusuke leads you into one of the many buildings in the immediate area.

When you pass through the door, you swear to God that it feels like stepping through the portal into another world. You go from an abandoned metropolitan area to a massive... MASSIVE scientific research facility. The ceiling is like a fucking dome, and it has to be at least a mile high. Dear God, this place is insanely big—big enough to make you feel like an ant in comparison. How the hell did they build all of this?

Who's that busty lady in a lab coat standing there with a battalion of armed soldiers behind her? The soldiers' armor looks high-tech, and their rifles are definitely not the kind that fire bullets. They've all got prongs at the ends of them. The lady vaguely resembles Monika. That's got to be her mother.

"Yusuke, well done!" she says, her hungry eyes upon you. "You brought Libitina to me, just as I instructed."

What...? You look at Yusuke, whose expression remains concealed behind the blackness of shadows over his face. He isn't in a hurry to deny it, but it really doesn't matter. You were headed this way anyway. You stare Monika's mother down and say, Yusuke didn't bring me to you, he delivered you to me.

"Ahaha, is that right? Well, let me tell you something, sweetheart..." Monika's mother puts her hands on her knees, and her boobs are ready to spill out of her skimpy top. "You won't last long against plasma weaponry. Why don't you be a good little girl and go back to A114?"

Do you want to die? you ask her. Take me to Monika.

Monika's mother stands upright and raises her hand, signaling the men behind her to train their plasma rifles on you. "You're not in charge here, Libitina. Take one step toward me, you'll be reduced to ashes."

"Where Is Monika?" Yusuke rumbles. "I Want To See Monika."

The pitious look Monika's mother gives him turns your stomach. "Yusuke, dear, you've been a good boy... I need you to rest now." The woman makes another signal with her fingers, and the light show begins.

All the soldiers—all eight of them—point their plasma rifles at Yusuke and unload on him. Every gun is automatic, and they're all firing off a stream of blindingly blue spheres of plasma energy. Yusuke throws his head back and screams as his body ignites in sapphire flames. Just when you think he's going to go down, he lunges at Monika's mother and drives his clawed hand straight through her face. It doesn't take a fucking genius to figure out that he just killed her in an instant. The woman's face is gone. The burning Yusuke uses the plasma-induced flames to melt his way through Monika's mother's head. He's arm deep in her skull, and his hand and forearm are coming out the back side of her cranium.

Blood everywhere, and the soldiers are still shooting him up with their plasma blasts. Mind, this all happens in the span of 1.5 seconds, but your heightened perception allows you to witness smaller windows of time as though they're much larger. Yusuke only got around your perception back at the school because he was much faster than you. Now his body is melting and he's become nothing but a foul smelling heap of inhuman garbage on the floor. It's disgusting, it's vile, it's vomit-inducing.

And now you're so excited that you can't contain yourself. Your third eye opens wider than ever before. It's so wide that it has now become visible to everyone else. The soldiers all hold their fire and get lost in the unblinking gaze of the crimson glowing third eye between your eyebrows. You have robbed them of their will, which kind of reminds you of an instant back when you were going to the Literature Club. Didn't Yuri start laughing before she stabbed herself to death?

You made her do that. You overshadowed Yuri's will and made her hand move according to your desires. Sorry, Yuri, but it was just so funny.

Kill yourselves, you command, giving all the soldiers the go-ahead to turn on each other and open fire. The bloodbath is so beautiful, as they blow each others' arms, legs, torsos, and heads clean off their bodies. You laugh out loud at them as they all perish.

Yusuke didn't make it. Oh well! Saves you the trouble of eventually killing him, right? He was a fucking traitor—at least, that's what Monika's mom wanted you to believe. Looks like Yusuke won't see Monika until they meet in heaven. Too fucking bad.

Before you leave the scene to travel deeper into the lab, which is now in chaos, and all sorts of alarms are going off, and idiots in lab coats are running everywhere, you take a moment to kick the corpse of Monika's mother while she's down, your only regret being that YOU wanted to kill her, as you berate Yusuke, that lucky prick.

You spread your arms, embracing eternity as you begin your great walk through Salvato Enterprise. The world belongs to you. Countless armed soldiers are rushing in with their plasma rifles. Here's the problem: their rifles don't allow them to shoot from a terribly long distance. So guess what? They have to get closer to you, and by then, you've already stolen their will from them.

There's another light show, in which soldiers shoot each other to pieces and their blood and body parts create a gory backdrop for your great debut as Libitina the Transcendent. The euphoria overcomes you to the point of waxing a bit poetic.

Your voice is magically amplified to ring throughout the facility, above the sirens and alarms: Once upon a lonesome galaxy, the sinners united beneath a dying sun. You will rot unto nothing, like the sick strays you are. Scream your final prayers, it matters not; your God is not watching.

Your God is not watching.

Those five words have spread through the Salvato Enterprise like a contagion uncontainable. It disrupts networks and hacks radio waves. You're unleashing so much power that technology has begun to fail.

You say, I love you, I love you, I love you. But your love is a twisted kind of love, isn't it? So far, you've only killed the soldiers who came to shoot you to pieces. You still need to find the Literature Club members.

*

Your search takes you all over Salvato Enterprise. You eventually find your way into an office where a man dressed in semi-casual attire is enjoying his morning coffee. He's sitting in one of those computer chairs. He spins his chair around to face you and leans back in his seat. Curious, he's not afraid of you in the slightest. You smell no fear emanating from this man. On his name tag, it simply says DS. Those must be his first and last initials. He's a handsome man with carefully trimmed facial hair and glasses. He smiles and raises his coffee cup to you before taking a drink.

Hey, you say. Where's Monika, Sayori, Natsuki, and Yuri?

DS understands your question. His eyebrows go up and he quickly puts his coffee cup down to tap a few buttons on his keyboard. You wait. He prints something on a piece of paper, which he tears from the printer and offers to you.

The paper reads:

You will find the Projection Engines on the third floor, A Wing. Thank you for your time!

You look up from the paper. DS is holding his coffee cup again. Like before, he smiles and raises his coffee to you.

Thanks, you say, before taking your leave.

*

A few stair flights and one insanity later, you've come to the Projection Engines in the A Wing. It's a spacious room. The engines themselves look like super computers attached to beds. Various people of all shapes and sizes are laying on those beds, lost in cybernetically induced comas. You walk along the walls, smashing the computers as you pass by each bed. One by one, the subjects wake up. You keep this up until you find four empty beds.

The Literature Club members have gone missing.

*

Where are they?

*

They're nowhere.

*

Wait, where was the Bio-Weapons Development Center...? Didn't Monika's mother mention that? Could they all have gone there? All you have to go on are noisy alarms and a thinning population of lab fools, most of whom have made it to safety; you're almost alone here, and that's no fun.

*

It doesn't take much walking to find the place you're looking for. The Bio-Weapons Development Center is abandoned, except for five—no, SIX people.

Monika, Natsuki, Sayori, Yuri, and Monika's father are all there, but there's one other person with them. You enter the area, observing the gang, all of whom are wearing hospital gowns, with the exception of Monika's father, standing around a shattered glass containment system, of which the oxygen mask and the many wires for monitoring vitals and other things have been detached from the naked high school boy laying among the glass shards on the wet floor.

It's Yusuke.

It clicks. The Yusuke that came to attack you at school was either a clone, or a Projection. You're going to go with both, because the wires here resemble the ones at the Projection Engines, and this container that got shattered must have been a cloning capsule.

The other club members don't immediately notice you until you walk up behind them. Your focus isn't on them, however.

It's on the other glass containment capsules in the room, the ones with human bodies floating inside them.

One catches your attention more than the others.

No way...

NO FUCKING WAY!

The other club members are saying shit to you, but you don't give a flying fuck, compared to THIS. You run up to the next containment system, staring up at the naked girl inside.

It's you.

THAT'S YOUR BODY IN THERE!

So what the fuck is this? You were just... a Projection? This whole time? Is that the real you inside the glass container? Floating peacefully inside water? Breathing oxygen through a mask? Wires stuck all over your body? That's YOU? The you inside the glass and the you standing out here, with third eye blazing bright, look identical.

"It's true," Monika says, knowing exactly what you're thinking. She's the only one who's approaching you. The others stay back, looking on. "Yusuke didn't come to harm. He's very weak right now, but he hasn't been inside his container for nearly as long as you have."

So I'm just a fucking clone? You round on Monika, ready to kill her where she stands. You scream at the top of your lungs at her: WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!

Monika's father walks up. "Because," he says, gently grabbing his daughter and pulling her away from you, in case you hurt her, or some shit. "Receiving this information as you were before would have caused permanent damage to your psyche, but you've come a long way, Libitina."

I've come along way? What the HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!

Monika says, "This is you inside the container. But it's also you out here. They did this to keep you alive. If they hadn't forced you to Project through your clone, the power would have... done something horrible to you. Something worse than death."

WELL, ISN'T THIS JUST QUAINT? You shout those words. I SUPPOSE YOU'RE ALL GOING TO GO BACK HOME NOW, AND LEAVE LITTLE LIBITINA HERE—

Glass shatters, and water pours out, drenching you from above. Your vision goes black.

*

*

*

What day is it?

You're waking up. Everything's different. You feel... normal. You feel like you. You try talking.

"My name is Libitina," you say, finding it so, so much easier to differentiate your spoken words from your inner thoughts.

You don't quite know where you are, but you do know it's dark, but cozy. It's soft and warm. It's quiet, and it's peaceful.

"Libitina?"

That's Sayori.

"Yeah?"

That's you. That's really you talking.

Sayori says from someplace unseen, "It's two o'clock in the morning. You're finally awake, Libitina..."

"Where am I?"

"Our hideout. We're down in Monika's dad's underground bunker."

"What's that all about?" you ask. "I can't move... feel... so weak..."

"It's okay. Just lay there. Rest. You've been in a coma for three days."

"Three days...? Damn... Why are the lights off?"

"Everyone's asleep. We got you out of the Enterprise after I broke you out of your containment chamber."

"That was you who broke the glass?" you ask in surprise. "Thank you, Sayori..."

"Don't mention it..."

"I want to go home, but I don't remember where home is," you say.

"Home was the Enterprise. That's where you were raised and developed. This is your first time out in the real world, but... eh-heh... it's not in a good state right now..."

"What do you mean?"

"We're in an underground bunker. Do you know what that means?"

"Kind of..."

Sayori spells it out for you. "We're at war, Libitina. You're the only one who can survive on the surface. Not even radiation can kill you. That's what the Enterprise wanted. You were designed to combat nuclear threat."

"So everything until now has been...?"

"Life is a lie," Sayori says darkly. "Let's go to sleep, Libitina. We'll meet up with with others tomorrow and decide what to do next."

*

In the end, you and the four girls you met in that controlled project spend the next few weeks in this shelter. Just when your food and water starts to run low, the surface becomes safe enough to walk on. Still, you must be hidden away, because the Enterprise will no doubt have people out looking for you.

You're in for a long life of treacherous twists and turns. But at least one thing is clear: this third eye that you're in possession of, it's still yours to control.

In the end, it's up to you if you want to be a savior to the people... or the destruction of God's green earth.

Welcome to the club.

THE END


End file.
